Golden Flame
by SkyBirdTitania
Summary: Alice has never believed in anything magical until she meets the Specialists, who have crashed on Earth, and a year after; realises she is a Fairy of Life. The difficult thing is...what is a fairy who is afraid to fly? / Some Canon pairings, Oc x Helia and eventual Oc x Riven
1. Prologue 1

The wailing was loud, louder than the roaring flames that engulfed the shop or the howling of the forthcoming sirens beginning to build up outside. Many lights started turning on in the neighbourhood houses, all worried and curious about the unfolding events that awoke them from their slumber.

When the warnings of blinding blue and white colours danced together on top of a car racing down the street; you had to automatically presume that when the police got involved - there's trouble.

Men began jumping from their trucks and made their way to the double doors of their vehicles, where the water and foam hoses lay at rest to be used quickly and efficiently.

One man with a gun tied to his belt had instantly shot from the safety of his police car, ignoring the shouts of desperation from the young rookies in the back seats, and dove into the swirling flames with a face of pure determination.

"Marcell!" A woman's voice called after him before he entered what seemed to be a maze of broken planks and shattered vases.

Within the crackling of the flames, he heard the wailing of a baby and it only got louder as he approached.

Then, tucked into a corner by the counter, lay a tiny baby wrapped in a finely knitted blanket. The blanket was pink, and what he assumed was her name was imprinted on the front. He didn't pay attention to that, however. For there was a light yellow glow pulsating her little body, other than this abnormality; Marcell gave a sigh of relief when it seemed that she was unharmed.

He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. What he saw intrigued him; a small baby, flushed in the cheeks from her constant crying, only held the life of the fire in her eyes. No iris, no colour, nothing but a steadying flame when she realised his presence.

She looked into his eyes, which held so much understanding and depth for a baby, and the flame suddenly burnt out. Her eyes now looked like pure black coal until they kept shrinking and shrinking.

Then expanded.

Her eye colour was blue, like a calming ocean just after a storm.

It was then that Marcell had realised that the fire from the shop had dispersed, and was now replaced by the silent pitter-patter of rain.

"Did you do that?" He awed at the little baby before him, and she suddenly gives him a happy gurgle as she reached out to entwine her tiny fingers with his rough scarred ones.

He felt a spark, somehow.

"Marcell?! You IDIOT!" The woman yelled, suddenly getting closer. "Do you have a death wish?! We, as a Unit, go in together! You-!" She had just noticed the small bundle in his arms, and then cleared her throat. "Was she alone?"

"She's the only one here, Constable Stevens. I reckon she was just dumped here by a parent who didn't want her before they set the place alight." He answers in a firm voice.

"Its cases like this I hate the most. Another one was only found last week." She frowned indignantly. "The family whose shop burnt down adopted her."

Marcell's eyes shift as he remembers.

"Mike's little girl, Bloom?" He asks, but he already knew the answer.

"Vanessa was overjoyed to accept her ever since she heard the news that she couldn't conceive." The Constable tapped her foot a little with her arms crossed over her chest, looking with an observing eye at the little shop before nodding to him.

"They are going to want us outside, and then the paramedics will take care of her." She said before ducking behind an out of place wooden plank that was loosely dangling from its place on the ceiling. She stopped to turn back to him with a concerned look. "You may want to call your wife, Marcell. She sounded really upset when she called only a while ago. I give you leave for tonight, you've done well."

He nodded, reluctantly handing the baby over to Constable Stevens as they walked, just before the rookies started cheering like drunken idiots when they emerged.

Constable Stevens gave a disapproving sigh.

"Some day one of them will be in the roll of action, and none of them will be cheering then." She grumbled.

"Karma goes around Constable." He smiled softly even at the situation of things. She groaned quietly to herself.

"Stop sucking up to the higher ups and go home, Marcell." She said before walking off to the Paramedics.

As Marcell reached his police car, he heard his phone ringing from the glove compartment where he left it. He opened the door to see the rookies watching what was going on outside.

"Beat it. Constable Stevens will be taking you home later." He said in a casual tone that so said officer. After hearing the occasional mock remark as they got out of the car, he picked up the phone to answer it.

"Marcell!" A woman cried. His eyes shouted panic stations.

"Victoria?!" He nearly yelled down the phone. "What's wrong?! What's the matter?!" More weeping.

"Marcel! It's the baby!" She cried. "There was blood! I lost the baby!"

His eyes widened, suddenly he made a sharp U-turn before speeding over the limit to get home to his precious wife. That's if he didn't kill himself first with his obnoxious driving.


	2. Prologue 2

It had been only three days since that little girl from the shop had been saved, and Marcell hadn't heard a word from Constable Stevens about the progress of the case. He would have probably found himself at the center of this case with the help of Inspector Gardner and Officer Mike - since he had to go through the same thing when he found his adopted daughter, Bloom - but fate had other plans for him when he had to make a quick rush to pick up his wife Victoria and then head to Revenshaw Hospital.

Yes, his dear Victoria had unfortunately had a miscarriage during the night that he was on duty, and the doctor had extracted the dead fetus from her womb that night. He told them that it only took a few hours for the process to be completed but she had to stay for a few more days incase there was a general reason why the baby had been rejected in Victoria's system, since she was always so careful with what she did and what she ate.

Finally they had been informed just today that her immune system had seemingly attacked the baby, thinking it were just some virus her body had to get rid of. The doctor said that it wasn't anything they had done wrong, just that these kind of cases are generally rare.

If Marcell remembered correctly, Mike had said pretty much the same thing about Vanessa. Although Vanessa wasn't pregnant at the time, per se, just that they had been trying for a baby ever since they married but the white blood cells in her immune system were far too high that it had rejected any attempt to conceive.

It's just that the white blood cells in Victoria were still treating the growing baby like some virus like before she became pregnant, that is what caused the miscarriage.

Victoria and Marcell just spent the few days in silence, not knowing what to say to each other. If they refused to talk from now on, like some couples do after a miscarriage, it might just lead them to devorce.

He shook his head mentally at that. 'We can't lose each other, and we won't!' he thought with angry determination as he watched his Victoria hum quietly in her sleep.

The hospital had appeared unappealing to them, and they were people who didn't expect high standards. Everything smelled of bleach or sick or pee; floors, people and it wafted through the air as well. The pillows hadn't had enough foam in them, since they liked a balance of in between little and a lot, it would give them badly creaky necks when they woke up in the morning.

The beds were too hard that Victoria would sometimes limit herself to resting her back on the single pillow she had and Marcell would have to fold his jacket into a make-shift pillow and put it behind her head at night.

Food came on a trolly at ten am, 2 pm and 8 pm with a small lady who asked if they wanted hot or cold food. She came back a little later with some Cereal for Victoria and a hot Breakfast for Marcell. Victoria, during the few times that she talked, had said to him how they could ever manage to make Corn Flakes taste more disgusting and he replied with;  
"Must be the milk they're using."

During their stay, there had been a woman staying at the far corner of the room by the window and a small old styled television. She had brought her small five year old daughter along to stay for a few days, but she found that it grew increasingly hard to keep her amused. The little girl would want to watch some of her cartoons on the television but it only had very old black and white movies.

Marcell had decided that today, he'd help the woman with her little child. He had requested a bundle of paper, some colouring pencils and some scissors and taught her how to make friendship chains. Victoria had kept a keenful eye on the both of them every time she woke up, but would be too exhausted to keep her eyes open so she would drift off again.

"Thank you." he looked up to see the girl's mother smiling softly at him. "I appreciate what you are doing, your wife is a very lucky woman to have a husband like you."

He smiled back, broken at the fact that he could not watch his own child grow up and for him to teach them things like this, but smiled none-the-less. "It's my pleasure."

"Officer Marcell." A womanly voice called, heels clacking on the wooden floor. There was only one person whom this could be.

"Colonel Stevenson. What do I owe the pleasure?" he said, hearing her growl.

"Don't be like that Marcell, you know that you're off duty until Victoria gets better."

"Then what are you doing here if you won't lay the information on the table?" he asked, crossing his arms. She clicked her tongue once before she answered.

"I'm here to tell you that there is absolutely no information." she answered, not surprised when he grabbed hold of her arm and wheeled her into the ward's single bathroom. She immediately used her free hand to peg her nose. "Jesus, what the hell died in here?"

"Tell me, Clarissa. What do you mean by no information?" he demanded.

"Exactly what I said, no information!" She hissed, placing her hands on her hips. "There's no evidence of anyone leaving her there, she has no name, apparently has no parents, Inspector Gardner said that everything had miracuously gone back to the way it was before the crime scene, meaning WE HAVE NO INFORMATION!"

The door suddenly opened, and Victoria peeked in. "Sorry, I was just wondering where you went until I saw you bring Clary in here. Then I heard your argument."

"It's fine, Victoria. You can go back to bed." Marcell spoke but Victoria shuffled on the spot, a little hesitant, before she looked at them both.

"I want to see her. I want to see the baby." she said, watching as Marcell and Clarissa's eyes widen in shock.


	3. Prologue 3

Call it love or whatever, but at this moment in time all Marcell wanted was to keep Victoria happy. So he agreed to her request and asked an angry Clarissa - who had stormed out of the ward - to fetch a wheelchair at the front desk of reception.

He sometimes wondered about the cost of keeping Victoria happy, of course it would be worth it, but it often led to Clarissa becoming angry at him because he always asks her to do things for his benefit.

Clarissa would complain a good deal of the time while outside their line of duty, and Marcell wasn't sure if that was a womanly thing or if it were a general sibling thing; always trying to cause spats.

Some of the petit framed nurses smiled at him as he walked past with Victoria in a wheelchair, sometmes he would wonder if Victoria would ever get worried and jealous if girls started hitting on him. Nah.

Marcell was generally a good looking guy with his short black hair and god-like chiseled face. But being in the Police Force normally put girls off from guys, as the law would always get in the way off relationships. Victoria found him being an officer more interesting than boring office type guys, which was a plus.

He stared quietly after his younger sister, wondering why she ever took the job. Guys would alway clink to her like magnets, then the whole officer thing would strike. Since she was more higher up than himself, Law Enforcement stuck and guys would throw off her like a dog would to poison. It was the only reason why she had not married yet.

Speaking of which, Clarissa came to a stop outside a small ward which held many cots and the ward looked slightly more appealing with the paintings of various cartoons on the wall. He looked in to see Inspector Gardner and Officer Mike beside a cot closest to the window.

Victoria took in a great breath.

"Officer Marcell! Nice for you to drop by." Inspector Gardner shook his hand in a polite gesture. "This is your lovely wife, Victoria, I presume?"

She smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Gardner."

"Please, call me Alexander. Mr Gardner makes me sound like a grandpa." He gave a kirky grin, but Clarissa just snorted.

"That's because you are one." She sneered. "Can we just leave the formalities and get down to business?"

Here is another perfect example of why Clarissa Stevenson is not married. She is abrupt, rude and sarcastic.

"Sometimes I wonder how you two are related." Mike whispered for only the hears of Marcell, and he nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure that Colonel Stevenson has already informed you of the situation of the child?" Alexander asked.

"In the way she always relays information, yes." He ignored the eyes which glared at him for that comment.

Clarissa mumbled something under her breath before reaching into the cot, lifting out the small sleeping baby and placing her into Victoria's arms. Victoria cradled her in her arms, rocking her gently from side to side. Her eyes instantly watching lovingly down at the small baby, the look of a mother.

"She doesn't have a name yet." Mike pointed out. "The words sown into her blanket have been translated as 'Golden Flame' so it may just be some baby brand line."

"After we find a name, she will be going up for adoption. Hopefully she'll find a nice family-"

"No." Marcell cut Alexander off. "Victoria and I will raise her as our own daughter."

Victoria's eyes lit up. "Really?!" Everyone watched in dismay as Marcell made his way over to Victoria, resting his hands on her shoulders and watching the little baby before them.

..."We will name her Alice. Alice Stevenson."

* * *

So it became official, Victoria and Marcell signed the adoption papers with great hopes that they could finally raise a child of their own. Even if Alice wasn't biologically theirs. But they cherished her, and watched her grow into a remarkable woman what she has become today.


	4. Side Chapter 1: Fifteen Years Later

She was fifteen now and well aware of her surroundings. Alice Stevenson had a love for music and playing instruments and, because of her father, also had a knack for her higher sense of morals. However, this did not mean that she understood absolutely everything that has to do with anything. She was still young, and didn't know a lot of the world around her.

When the start of summer came around, and the weather wasn't being very generous with the constant rain and storms, Alice became intrigued by the outside world. She knew something was going to happen, somehow something was stirring in the very atmosphere of things, in a way she was right but not in the way she would have expected.

It was only the third day of summer, and her superstitions came true in a form of what looked like an Alien Spaceship. But this Spaceship was not planning to keep it's distance, as it got closer she noticed black swirling smoke form from the bust.

With wide eyes, she realised it was going to crash...and It was going to crash in her back garden.

She flung open the back door and stood in the rain, watching as a fold in door to the Spaceship opened and fell to the ground, then five boys stepped out spluttering and choking on the fumes.

Being the lady that she is, she hurried them all inside the house and grabbed them towels to dry themselves off.

"What were you guys doing taking a plane out in the storm?" She asked curiously, noticing their weird matching blue and cream clothing that were possibly some kind of jumpsuits that your supposed to wear when you go swimming. "Are you okay?" She sat down beside the boy with long black hair and noticably muscular body that kind of made the blood in her cheeks rush. To say that he was cute was an understatement, and to say he was ugly would be a downright lie. So she stuck to the former.

"We are heading to Red Fountain, is it anywhere around here?" The boy with fair skin and blonde hair asked, and again; how can she say that he WASN'T cute? But obviously she had more restraint to answer his question.

"You just crash landed in my garden for one, and by the looks of it you won't be going anywhere." She spoke with slight sarcasm, but then gave a look of confusion. "I've never heard of any Red Fountain's anywhere around here, but if you asked my Aunt Clarissa she could make one for you."

To say that Alice got her sarcasmic drawl from her aunt was an understatement, but she wasn't kidding when Clarissa Stevenson had a tendency to bring out the wine fountain - which was probably only meant for dipping chocolate - at every social event that she held.

A boy with mediumly tanned skin stood up, sorting his long dark brown bang to angle sharply towards his right eye. The way he kind of flipped his hair looked like what they did in movies. "So much for arriving in Magix early, boys." He turned around to face her and she got a glimpse of brown orbs. "Mind if we crash here for a while?" He joked.

As if she had a choice in the matter...


	5. Side Chapter 2: Within Reason

Alice had went to her room to put on a dry pair of clothes, this time just throwing anything she had on. She decided to tie her wet hair up in a ponytail before she left to go downstairs again.

Walking into the living room again and she became quite sheepish as Marcell, who was probably done with his first shift and came home for lunch, was greated by five wet boys sitting on the sofa or the floor; flicking through the channels of the big flat screen television. He turned to her with a worried and confused look on her face.

She threw up her arms. "Before you accuse me of having a party with boys-"

"FIVE of them-"

"Look out the kitchen window and tell me what you see." She interrupted like he interrupted her.

He gave her a VERY confused look and walked over to the kitchen window, spotting what was out of place with it and nearly screamed. He tried to hold himself back from this result however, and turned to her with a pained look.

"Your mother isn't going to be happy that they squished her white roses." He said calmly. "So...They crash landed that thing?"

"Yeah." She said.

"Holy..." He cursed. "You know they aren't staying in this house, right?"

"DAD!" She yelled in despair. "I only JUST met them! They can't stay out in a broken ship!"

He thought it over and groaned. "Fine, but they are staying in the living room."

She smiled and hugged him. "Thank you for being reasonable."

The short dark brown haired boy walked in to the kitchen with a DVD in his hand. It titled 'Of Mice and Men', one of Marcell's all time favourite movies. "Movie night?" He smiled sweetly, Marcell gave Alice a worried look again but he always knew that she was a sensible girl and this was her one chance to make new friends.

With no questions asked, Alice made three plates stacked with pancakes drizzled and drowned with syrup. She gave a couple to Marcell on a small plate which would fill him up until dinner, and took the rest through to the boys whom scarved every last morsel of pancake and syrup.

With bellies full and Marcell gone to work again, they sat down to watch the movie.


	6. Side Chapter 3: Boys

By the end of the movie, Alice and the guys were all in tears at Lennie Small's death. Except from the guy with short magenta hair (Apparently he was too manly to cry at such a thing) who sat on the couch, looking boredly at the screen. She found out from the guys during the movie his name, since he wouldn't tell her himself; Riven.

Alice had curled up on the Sofa, crying into the boy she now knew as Helia's shoulder. Helia had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. Brandon, the evil boy who had suggested the movie in the first place, had a few tears rolling down his eyes. Sky, the blonde boy whom Alice also thought was cute, had resulted in biting the pinky nail of his right hand. Timmy, the lanky looking figure who Alice had not really found attractive, was bawling his eyes out dramatically that he took off his glasses and repeatedly wiped his eyes.

Victoria, Alice's mother, had walked in a little towards the end of the movie. She had given Alice a look that said she was proud, and set off to start dinner; She made Spaghetti Bolognese with Pork Meatballs topped off with Cheese. The guys commented that the smell was hypnotic, Sky and Brandon had often found themselves in the kitchen drooling because of the food.

Alice thought that Helia was quite comfy even with his strong build and the slight smell of aftershave, so she stayed curled at his side. "You'd think I never fed them this afternoon." she moaned silently, but Helia caught it and laughed a laughed that sounded like bells chiming.

Since the small dining table in the fairly large kitchen was too small to fit seven people at it, Victoria handed them their food so they could sit in the living room with it. Alice felt a bit reluctant to leave the warmth that was Helia, but was suddenly giddy again when he held his bowl with one hand and her hand in the other, guiding her back to the couch.

They ate as they chatted, Victoria wanted to know more about the boys out of curiousity. It was clear that she wasn't as protective of Alice as Marcell was when the fifteen year old was around a group of boys, Victoria had always supported Alice if she would ever bring home boys (Which would be never) because it was just a way of her 'little girl' growing up into a woman.

It took a while before Victoria had managed to convince Marcell to come upstairs to bed so the new friends could talk alone, and Alice had to give her mother the credit for that power.


	7. Side Chapter 4: What You Believe

It was just over two weeks since Alice had met the Specialists, and they had grown very close. It was most days when she asked questions about them, sometimes they would hesitate before they answered them; like they didn't really want her to know their secrets.

Helia was the contributor to the unanswered questions and also liked to explain things she didn't quite understand.

"Why do you wear those spandex suits?" She would ask.

"They are very easy to move around in, compared to the kind of clothes that you wear to school." He smiled, he never grinned like he thought she was stupid, he knew that was quite the opposite.

Alice just wasn't knowledgeable in the kind of things that the Specialists had to do, their world, their culture.

She knew her own world pretty well; World History, Beliefs and Religion and Media. However, she did not believe in the world in what Helia always spoke of. He believed in Witches, Pixies and even Fairies but never had Alice ever believed in anything that belonged in a fantasy picture book.

"I don't believe in Fairies." She said, slowly moving herself back and forth on the swing that she had settled herself on. It wasn't a park, it was just a small place with only two swings where someone could look across the water and just watch all the lights in the very distant houses as the sun went down. Helia had suggested that they went for walks on a nightly basis, and they always ended up here. Their place.

"If you don't believe in fairies, you don't believe in me or the rest of the guys." He spoke casually, watching her face twist in comfusion. "We are Warriors, The Specialists, from Red Fountain which is located in the Magix Dimension. There are two other schools in Magix; Cloud Tower and Alfea."

"Are the people there warriors too?" She asked.

He shook his head, giving that little smile that she loved too much. "Cloud Tower is a school for Witches and Alfea is a school for Fairies."

There was silence for a while, Alice processing this information in her head. "Could...Could you take me there some day?"

He looked sad. "I can't. All three schools are surrounded by magical protection, meaning that no humans can enter them." He said, making his way from his swing and stopping in front of her. He took hold of the metal chains, his nose nearly touched hers. "Maybe some day, that could change. I want to show you my world, and for you to be a part of it."

She smiled, before his lips brushed hers in a light and sweet kiss that would have made her knees buckle if she hadn't been sitting down.

She didn't regret Helia taking her first kiss.

~ To Be Continued ~


	8. Side Chapter 5: Hot and Cold

She squirmed in her tossled bed uncomfortably, it was nights like these when it was far too hot that Alice found it very hard to sleep. She sighed breathlessly as she spralled hopelessly under the covers, her feet escaping into the open air; which still didn't exactly help.

Alice had found her way out in the back garden where the Specialists had recently found residence since the ship had been repaired a month ago.

She felt a little depressed, knowing that they had to leave tomorrow for a different dimension altogether. Although she still wasn't really sure there ever was a different dimension that they could travel to; even if she wanted to take their word on it.

"Helia?" She whispered when she entered the ship. Peaking through a door to a room that he had been sleeping in. "Helia?"

"Your not going to be able to wake him up." A emotionless voice called from behind her, shivers travelling up her spine. "He's out for the count."

"Do you really have to scare me like that, Riven?" She hissed in anger.

She heard him heave a big sigh.

"What do you need anyway?" He asked.

"I...Uh...Well..." She blushed out of embarassment. "It's too hot to sleep..."

She saw him raise one of his eyebrows in the darkness. "And you think that Helia can somehow help you with this?"

She blushed a deeper shade of red. "I was only trying to see if he was awake enough so we could go for a walk together!"

Alice and Riven had had a dozen disagreements since she met him two months ago; he even went as far as causing the bathroom door to jam while she was in the shower. Helia, who had only just recently asked her to be his girlfriend since their first kiss, had managed to save a tear-stricken Alice from her feeling of claustrophobia.

She had always thought that he was kind of weird, it was the way that he did things that were so different from her or the rest of the Specialists. She had categorised him as the 'Lone Wolf' of the group of friends.

"I'll take you." He said suddenly, looking as if he hadn't really though about it before saying it and then suddenly regretting saying it at all.

"What?" She looked in disbelief. Was this another trick?

He sighed again. "I'm awake now, so I can walk with you."

She bowed her head. "Sorry..." she whispered.

"What are you saying sorry for now?" he asked, irritated.

She looked up crossly. "Sorry that this may be an inconvenience for you."

There was a moment that she was sure he was frowning, not out of anger but out of sadness, but that went away as quickly as it had came.

"It's not an inconvenience, but if you really want to be that way then i'm going back to bed." he turned around to walk back to his door, when her hand suddenly reached out to grab his wrist.

"No! I mean...I just thought..." She trailed off in a loss of words.

He turned around again, facing her and very aware of her hand that still held onto his wrist but less tightly than when she grabbed it only seconds ago.

"I don't hate you, if that's what you've been thinking all this time." He said, walking out the ship with her closely at his side.

"Then why...?" She said, saddened.

He sighed again for what seemed to be the umpteenth time tonight. "I just don't like it when I get close to people, I always end up hurting them in one way or another. That's why I stay isolated, so I can't." He looks to her. "Now I know that it hurts others even more if I stay away from them, i'm just...at war with myself."

"Let me in, Riven." She said softly. "I want to be your friend. I'll teach you to let more people in."

"We can't." He spoke as if he were talking of them having a secret relationship behind Helia's back, although it was far from that case. "We leave tomorrow for Red Fountain, we can't..."

"We can." She spoke with determination. "This isn't going to be the last time that we see each other, Riven. Helia and the other guys have already clarified that, we are all going to be friends for a long time." She smiled, taking a hold of his hand. "I promise this with my heart."

He smiled back slightly, the darkness shielding him from her seeing that small tinge of a blush rushing to his cheeks.

"I believe you."

They spent the rest of the night sitting on the park bench, and her head slowly fell onto his shoulder as she began the best sleep of her life. When she was hot from his body temperature, and cold because of the light breeze of the dark night which would follow through until morning.

~To Be Continued ~


	9. Side Chapter 6: Departure

The day she had dreaded ever since she met them had finally come; the day that the specialists had to depart for their school in the Magix Dimension.

Even after they had just spent the night under the stars, Riven and Alice were acting ever more hostile towards each other. Mostly because it was the first time that they had been relatively nice to each other since they met and couldn't handle the new change brought upon them.

Alice couldn't stop herself from taking small glances at him from time to time, remembering the promise that she had made and that he had agreed on.

'Riven isn't all that bad.' She mused.

The weird thing was; she'd sometimes catch him glancing at her as he helped the rest of the guys to pack up the ship, then his cheeks would turn a light colour of pink which he tried to hide before she noticed. Luckily, and to his relief, she hadn't.

They all stood in a line in front of her in the back garden, which had looked like it had been bombed only a couple of months ago now looked better than it ever had before, each of them watching as she stared nervously at the small rectangular boxes in her hand. Victoria and Marcell stood at the patio door, Marcell hugging Victoria's waist as they watched.

"Sky." She smiled as he straightened quickly, as if he were under her command and this was the army. "This is for you."

He opened the cardboard case and he grinned, lifting the piece of jewellery out. It was a blue crystal stone which dangled from it's chain, silver beads kept it in place and when he lifted it to put it around his neck; it gave a small jingling sound. "It's great!"

"It represents the colour of the sky as well as your personality, i think." She grinned back, watching as it glistened and sparkled in the sun light.

Brandon was next, she held out two things for him compaired to Sky's one.

"The movie? But that's your dad's..." He trailed off but she waved him away from that assumption.

"I bought it with my own money, i know how much you liked it." She shrugged with a grin still tugging at her lips. "No biggie."

"You shouldn't have." He smiled genuinely.

He opened up the cardboard case that she gave him, viewing a small metal sword dangling from a chain. The hand grips were blood red and the shief was black.

"Where do you get the money for these?" He gaped.

"I don't, I make them." She beamed.

"You are really talented Alice." Helia commented, earning him a little blush from her. She cleared her throat quickly.

"Timmy!" She called, trying to not become emersed in Helia at this point in time. Especially since she didn't want to back down and hide in a corner, being to afraid to give him his 'Goodbye' present. She held out Timmy's box, which contained a small nano disk on a chain.

"You really know me well." His eyes glistened.

It was hard to not know what Timmy liked, he spent nearly all his time working on little gadgets that he invented as well as repairing the ship.

Next was Riven, he watched her nervously as he opened the box. There lay a small Yin and Yang charm on it's chain.

"It's to represent our new friendship." She chirped, a little awkwardly. "We are completely different people and always circling each other, but somehow our differences always attract. Like opposites, you know?"

He clasped the chain around his neck and held the charm between his fingers, he looked at her in a way he never had before. "Thank you."

She nodded, finally drawing her eyes away from him and onto Helia, who stood patiently with a smile that she grew to love.

"You didn't have to get me anything." He said.

"I couldn't just make the guys something and not make you anything." She protested, handing him the last small box. When he opened it, there lay a tiny key dangling from it's chain. He put it around his neck, she stepped closer to lift his hair out of the way. His long, silky hair that she'd miss brushing her fingers through.

"It's wonderful." He said in awe, and she giggled as she lifted the charm that lay at the base of her neck. It was in a shape of a heart.

"You have the key to my heart." She whispered shyly. "Do you want to open it?"

So he did, he took the key from his neck and slipped it into the side of the heart. He turned it until the heart started playing music. He looked at her in shock.

"It's our melody that you sing to me at night." He whispered, she nodded with a sweet but sad smile. She took it off and placed it in his palm.

"Play it when you miss this." She pecked him on the lips and hugged him tightly around his waist, not wanting to let go. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, it seemed like he didn't want to let go either. "Goodbye Helia..." She sniffed.

"We'll be back next year, I promise." He whispered against her ear.

I clung to that promise with teary eyes.

I would see them again.

«There's a song that's inside of my soul,  
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again.  
I'm awake and in the infinite cold,  
But you sing to me over and over again.»

Alice watched as the spaceship disappeared into the distance, Victoria and Marcell appeared at her side; hugging and comforting her because of that sudden emptiness she felt. The Specialists were her only friends.

She finally broke down.

«So I lay my head back down,  
And I lift my hands and pray,  
to be only yours,  
I pray to be only yours.  
i know now  
You're my only hope...»

~ To Be Continued ~


	10. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Event

It had officially been a year since the Specialists had left Earth to go to Red Fountain and Alice had wondered if they had truly forgotten about her.

Had they already lost the charms that she made them? She hoped not, since she put a lot of time and care into making them.

She wondered how many times Helia had played the song, she wondered how many times Riven had thought about their estranged friendship, if Timmy had converted the nano-disc into some cool gadget, how many times had Sky thought of his name and imagined how it was like to live under the same sky as her? how many times had Brandon watched 'Of Mice and Men'?

Alice also wondered if the time difference was significantly different in the Magix dimension, and couldn't help herself imagine a grumpy Riven as an old man. It often made her laugh and kept her going, knowing that she WOULD see them again before that ever happened.

Especially since she didn't want to be dating an eighty-year-old Helia when she was still sixteen.

Alice smiled as she lay on the grass in the park, she had just done her chores and had decided to spend her day in the quiet with a nice view where she could watch the sky. When she finally closed her eyes, she decided that it was better to dream of the better times of last summer; and how this one was quickly coming to an end.

* * *

Alice woke up later in the day, the sun had already taken that tinge effect with the sky and nobody else happened to be around.

She rose carefully on her stiff legs and stretched dramatically until she satisfyingly heard a slight crack vibrate her body, this was the only way that she'd get out of her stiffness.

She began walking down the street to her house at a slow pace, but heard a loud crash coming from Bloom's house. Curious, she ran over to her neighbour's door to find that it had been kicked in.

As she cautiously entered, she took note of what looked like an orange troll monster thing with blue dungarees - seriously, what is with people and spray tan these days? - and what looked like Bloom's parents backed up against the wall.

"M-Mike? Vanessa?" Alice stood frozen by the door.

Everything went by in a flash. The troll was being attacked by rays of the sun that came from a flying girl's hands, she remembered being carried by strong arms across the room and left their to hazily watch what was going on.

She heard them speaking, laughing although taking part in something serious - fighting. Voices that she knew so well.

Alice felt something build up in her eyes and she felt wetness running down her face, her finger tips started tingling painfully and her arm reached out towards the orange tanned person monster thing.

The last thing she knew was a bright light and loud monstrous screaming before she passed out.

* * *

"Alice? Are you okay?"

Her eyes opened hazily, she got a glimpse of purple hair before she wrapped her hands tightly around the one that was holding her.

Riven.

"Yeah, taking to the way she's death gripping you - I'd say she's okay." Brandon, who was sitting beside them, laughed.

"If I wasn't in such a mess right now, all of you would face my wrath." She said, and they all laughed again. "I missed you guys."

Suddenly, the girl who was floating earlier walked over. She was a blonde haired girl with a keen taste for fashion.

"My name is Stella and you definitely have some major winx girl!" And peppy too, great.

I noticed an orange figure slowly pulling himself out of a chasm - I was told later that I created that thing - with a groan.

Brandon - dear _, dear_ Brandon - stood up from where he was sitting and placed something around the creature's neck that looked like a dog collar. "Not so fast big guy, you're coming with us."

"You've done enough damage for one day pal." Sky glanced at Bloom for a moment, but I noticed it anyway.

"Where are you taking him?" Bloom asked.

"Probably to a creature preserve." Riven replied allowing Alice to stand up on her own but giving her gentle support in case she fell over.

"Hey guys, it's time for us to hit the road." Timmy called out, creating a blue swirly hole - she soon learns that this is a portal - in the middle of the room.

"What? You aren't staying for long?" Alice cried in dismay, when she looked at Riven he gave her a small smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"It won't be that long before we see each other again, since you are a fairy." Riven said before he walked off and into the hole - Jesus Alice! Find a better word for it! - and disappeared.

"See ya later girls!" Brandon called out.

"Bye!" Timmy smiled.

"Bloom, Alice! I hope to see you both at Alfea!" Sky said before he disappeared with the others.

"Me too!" Bloom yelled back, hoping that he heard her.

The portal swirled to a close and Bloom, Alice, Mike and Vanessa were left in the silence of the trashed home.

All of a sudden, Alice realised that they had came into her life again and they exited just as quickly.

"Well, glad that's over!" Mike remarked, breaking the silence.

* * *

After explaining extensively about Alfea and helping clean around the house, as well as getting Marcell and Victoria to come along.

They all stood in the trashed living room - that had taken a while to explain to Alice's parents as well - in a circle, Alice and Bloom had eventually convinced their parents to let them go only if they see where Alfea is.

"So how do we get there?" Alice asked Stella.

"Normal humans can't go through portals, but my sceptre can do it!" Stella's ring on her finger began to glow and glowed until it formed into a staff shape, she twirled it effortlessly between her fingers once the glow vanished. As she placed the end of the sceptre to the ground, they were suddenly falling through purple nothingness which just happened to be another portal.

The wonderful smell of grass and flowers filled their nostrils, and they all opened their eyes to a magnificent pink castle like building.

They stared in awe.

"Pretty cool!" Bloom exclaimed.

"With a capital C!" Stella added. Then we all walked towards the school together.

A smile rose to Alice's face.

 _Here's to a great adventure!_


	11. Chapter 2: Welcome to Magix!

"There it is! The Alfea school for Fairies!" Stella proclaimed.

To say that the school wasn't the biggest, pinkest and the most magical looking school in the world;  
Would just be an outright lie.

"Wow! It makes public school look totally lame-o!" Bloom remarked, Alice considered the fact that our school on Earth was just a typically normal school. If the school were to be suddenly painted pink by the time that she next visited, the school troublemakers would probably get detention for the next month to try to clean the paint off.

"Well, before we all decide, why don't we go in and see what it's like?" Vanessa suggested, and Victoria nodded with a smile on her face.

How did Alice tell her folks about Stella and Alfea, you may ask? It went rather smoothly actually. They had already known about the Specialists, who had informed them about the Magix dimension the last time that they were on Earth.

"I wonder what their record is for college admissions - ouch!" Mike was cut off from his sentence as he bumped face first into something. "It's as if there's an invisible wall! I can't get through it!"

Bloom and Alice walked over to where he was having problems moving, and walked past his point. They both looked at him as if he were crazy.

"I didn't feel anything." Bloom said.

"I didn't either. Whatever it was, it's gone now."

"Actually, there's an invisible wall here." Stella looked thoughtful.

"And you didn't tell us before we got here, why?" Mike asked, crossing his arms.

Stella shrugged her shoulders. "I forgot?" She said in a small voice that sounded like she was going to burst into fits of giggles.

Bloom pointed to her parents, and then surveyed her finger to point at Alice's parents too. "If it didn't stop us, why can't they get through it?"

Stella smiled triumphantly, she obviously knew the answer to this question. "Well that's simple; you guys are magical beings and they are not. This barrier keeps non-magical beings out of our school. Sorry about that." She said the last part as an after thought to the parents.

Stella decided to show them an Alfea School guide instead, which contained pictures of the daily lives of fairies, dorms, classrooms and teachers. Bloom looked hopefully at her parents.

"I think you'll have a wonderful year, Bloom." Vanessa had tears in her eyes now, which she quickly wiped away on her sleeve.

"Mom..." Bloom quickly threw her suitcase aside and ran to hug her parents. "Dad..."

Alice watched this moment with a sweet smile on her face, but was suddenly pulled aside by Marcell who held her head between his armpit and used his knuckle to rub her head.

"Alright, Squirt! We hope you have a good time." He finally let go of her after hearing her protest of 'Not Cool Dad!', and gave her a smile. "And no boys!"

"DAAAD!" Alice complained, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's not even a mixed gender school!"

Alice noticed Stella in the corner, and how she quickly looked away when Alice said that.

"It's okay honey, he's just kidding. Aren't you darling?" Victoria smiled at Alice before she elbowed her husband playfully in the ribs, Alice smiled back. The irony was that Marcell was a police officer, but the only thing he was terribly afraid of was his own wife's outbursts.

That would be the last time they saw their parents for a good while, Alice realised as Stella teleported them away back to Earth using her staff.

"Alright girls! Suitcases up! It's time to make an entrance!" Stella said throwing her hand in the air for emphasis. Alice and Bloom followed Stella until they reached the gates of the school - the gates were pink and blue, shaped brilliantly like wings - and they stopped. Alice bumped into Bloom. "Why'd we stop?"

Stella pointed to a grisly looking woman with short brown hair and pointy glasses. "That's Ms. Griselda, Head of Disciplinary Conduct. And in desperate need of a makeover." They saw Griselda ask a girl with long blue hair her name and place of Origin, the girl then told her that she applied online but Griselda quickly dismissed her and shouted in her booming voice, "NEXT!".

"Oh no! We aren't going to be on the list!" Bloom panicked.

"Stella...?" Alice asked, hoping that this adventure wasn't going to fall flat on it's face before it even began. Even since she didn't want to return to Earth School.

Stella, still in her good mood, flashed out a slip from mid-air. "Fear not, my dears! The twin Princesses of Vallisto, Varanda and Ariana, were supposed to be home schooled this year, so gave me this letter to give to the head mistress. I just won't give it to her. No one actually knows what they look like, so this opportunity is perfect!" She tore up the pink envelope with the letter inside and threw it in the air.

"I really hate lying." Bloom muttered. _As if that was the least of our problems._

"Stella, I'm sorry if your expectation of me being a cool kid was high - but it's really not. I refuse to lie to an adult, especially if it's a scary looking one who sort of reminds me of our old Science teacher who went off to serve in the army before she retired." Alice protested. "I mean, that teacher gave you into trouble for just breathing in her general direction."

Stella gave Bloom a look, who nodded regretfully at the statement.

"It's fine! We aren't lying," Stella assured, while pushing us towards what seemed like a tiny paddling pool with a ten-tonne shark waiting for us. "We're just not telling what we know!"

"That's still-!"

"Long time no see, Ms G!" Stella called out, interrupting Alice from her continued argument, with a cocky grin on her face.

"Not long enough, Princess Stella!" Her voice boomed out, a stern look on her face that would have made Bloom and Stella walk away while giggling nervously if it were any other situation they were in. "Not after that little incident last year! How your parents convinced the school board to let you back in is completely beyond me!" Apparently quite posh too, and a bit snotty.

"They contributed a large donation to the new Science lab," Stella said giddily.

 _Maybe all Princesses are proud of their parents' wealth, I feel sorry for my dad and mom having to go through that stage with me. Knowing that Stella has obviously been that way her whole life._

"Who are your friends?" She demanded.

"Twin Princesses Varanda and Ariana of Vallisto!" Stella introduced, while using her hand to show the Identities of both Princesses.

Griselda checked of a list she held on a clipboard. "Yes, the twins. You may come in." She gestured them to finally enter the gates, so they did.

"NEXT!" Griselda yelled out again. _That woman has some set of pipes on her..._

After the students lined up in perfect rows, and received their welcomes, Ms. Griselda walked over to speak with them. "First things first, our code of behaviour; the first rule is, you must follow all rules in the code of behaviour!" _Nooo, really?_ "If you break the rules once, you will be turned into a frog." _Eew._ "If you break the rules twice, your magic privileges shall be suspended. If you break the rules THREE TIMES, you shall be expelled. Isn't that right Princess Stella? Last year, she destroyed the potions laboratory with an unauthorised magic spell, which brings me to the SECOND rule: no unsupervised magic at any time! A-hem!"

"You'd think that teachers wouldn't mindlessly pick on pupils like that." Bloom complained in Stella's defence to Alice.

"That's just Ms. G for you, she doesn't know the meaning of having a little fun." Stella huffed.

"What were you doing anyway to destroy a whole lab?" Alice asked.

"I was trying to make a new shade of pink!" Stella protested.

"We believe that discipline is the only way to prepare you for the big world out there, which brings me to the third rule: -" _You'd think that she'd talk a little less, since we are only on the third rule. And it's cold out here._ "- stay away from the witches of Cloud Tower no matter what! We don't have a punishment for that since NOTHING could be as terrible as what THEY will do to you if they catch you up there!" Talk about giving the first day chills, geez.

They were led inside by a old, grey woman who was much kinder in comparison to Ms. Griselda. "Good morning ladies! My name is Ms. Fairagonda and I am your principle! I can see that we have quite the class this year, but our mission is the same for everyone. To help each-"

"-of you become the very best that you can be!" Stella joined in with the speech and then laughed afterwards. "She really does love to say that!"

"Let's have a great year everyone!" She Ms Fairagonda concluded. "Oh! And take every opportunity to connect to your Winx!"

We were soon enough excused to find our rooms, meet our roommates and unpack our bags.

* * *

"What did she mean by 'connect to your Winx'?" Bloom asked.

"Winx is essentially three things: First, It's your source of power, as in your strength and energy. Second, It's what guides you. Thirdly, it's basically your magical identity." Stella concluded.

"I think I've got it." Bloom said.

"You either got it or you don't, and you two definitely have it!" They arrived to an apartment door, and Stella pushed the doors open. Bloom and Alice's jaws dropped when they saw what was inside. There lay soft fluffy couches and beanbags, a table in the centre of the seating area with a bowl of little sweets just temptingly laying there, separated rooms, a large TV, what looked like a computer, and a large set up of speakers and a radio.

"Oh. My. Amazing. Fluffy. Heaven." Alice spoke.

"No kidding." Bloom observed the room as well.

"Looks like I'm bunking with...Musa and Tec-nah." Alice read from the list.

"I'm bunking with a girl called Flora." Bloom said.

"And I bunk with my beautiful self, in my own suite - fit for only the Princess of Solaria." Stella hopped away towards a set of double doors. "Ciao." and shut the door behind her.

"Come on Alice, let's go see our rooms!" Bloom said excitedly, and Alice nodded with a large smile on her face.

Alice followed Bloom across the hall, and Bloom opened the door and stepped in. A girl with long brown hair stood in the room, arranging plants on shelves. She smiles as she heard us enter the room and when Bloom went to great her, she stepped on a vine.

"Owwwww! That hurt!" The plant said, wiggling it's vines around.

Alice's jaw dropped again.

"Wow, I'm sorry." Bloom said, at a loss for words.

"He's my latest creation. He's cute, isn't he?" A smooth and soft voice came from the brown haired girl as she walked over. "Hi, I'm Flora." She moved her hips dramatically as she said this, which knocked the poor - _talking, don't forget talking! -_ plant over and broke his plant pot. "Whoopsie-do!"

"Can't a plant get a break around here?" He complained.

"Sorry, Honey." Flora sheepishly apologised before she turned to Bloom. "So, what's your names?"

"Ariana." "Bloom."

Alice looked at Bloom sharply. "Uh. What I meant was, Bloom is a name I really like a lot, but that's not my name." She backed up quickly and looked at the list 'slyly'. "My name is...Varanda...of Vallisto! Yep, that's me!" _Real save there Bloom, your lucky if we even last a day here._

"Vallisto; Fourth world of Magic Realms upper ring. Renowned for it's rich, artistic tradition. It's features are very popular with tourists." The voice came from the doorway, when Alice and Bloom turned around - they were met by a friendly face with cropped purple hair, who carried a small blue suitcase.

"Right, that's us." Alice said before Bloom ruined their cover.

"Cool, I'm Tecna." She smiled, and Alice waved.

"Hey Tecna! I'm Stella! Nice to meet'cha!" Stella said with her usual perkiness, strolling over to meet Tecna. She must have been standing there the whole time while Bloom composed herself.

"You are quite infamous Stella." Tecna remarked.

"Well, that is the word on the street," A girl with short black ponytails stood in the doorway, a brown backpack resting on one of her shoulders. Alice wondered just how many people could fit into the one room."Yo Stella! If you plan to blow up any more stuff, let us know ahead of time so we can bounce!"

Alice and Bloom giggled out of spite of Stella's glance at them.

"It was in the name of fashion, I don't regret it." Stella complained.

"I think I can speak for the others if I ask," Alice chimed in. "Did you actually create this new shade of pink?"

"No," Stella admitted, sounding like she was winded. "But when I do, It will become the official colour of Solaria!"

Alice couldn't help but image a large pink castle, with a drawbridge and a rainbow settled over it. She thought that it all seemed too Barbie, but then again; Stella could possibly pull it off.

A loud screech filled the room, and they all turned to the culprit; Kiko.

Kiko was Bloom's pet rabbit that she had brought with her to Alfea, which is kind of queer since Alice remembered that only magical beings can get passed the barrier.

Kiko was dangling in the air, holding the plant by his teeth. But then the plant began to swing him around.

"Bad plant! Drop him now!" Flora ordered.

"It's okay, I'll bet Kiko tried to eat him. He just loves his veggies." She laughed, picking up Kiko. He seemed to still have little stars in his eyes.

As Flora planted some carrots for Kiko, Alice turned around to face Techna and the black haired ponytail girl.

"I'm Ariana of Vallisto, by the way." She mostly directed at the black haired girl.

"Musa." She beamed. "We'll set up some beats later in our room, and we'll pig out and dance! How does that sound?"

"Sounds 'A' Okay!" Alice beamed back, she had never gotten the chance to 'pig out' or to play loud music. She only ate what was put in front off her, and didn't really listen to the new trends of music. But she couldn't wait.

"Speaking of food, I'm famished!" Stella announced loud enough that the people in the next room could possibly hear her. "Hey, why don't we go into Magix for some pizza? It's so much fun!"

'I didn't expect a princess to eat pizza, but eh - what do I know?' Alice nodded. "How's it like?"

"It's fresh." Musa said as a joke, Alice just thought her accent was amazing.

"That's not what I meant," Alice said. "I mean Magix."

"You've never been?" Flora asked, and Alice remained with a blank expression to confirm this.

"Man girl, you're pretty sheltered aren't you?" She placed her arm around Alice's shoulder, which was a bit weird since she never had friendly contact with anyone but the Specialists; which led her to wonder if she'd actually see them any time soon.

"We've never been, but if we can grab a slice of pizza; I'm totally in!" Bloom exclaimed.

* * *

When they arrived in Magix, Bloom mentioned that she was a bit disappointed by the way it looked; how she expected just a little more than flying cars. Other than that, and the high buildings, it just looked like a futuristic earth.

Alice kind of enjoyed to look at the tall buildings the most, it made her feel dizzy when she tried to look up them. She had to admit that the pizza was better than what her father occasionally made.

"This place is amazing!" Alice said, closing her eyes and listening to the music playing quietly in the background.

"Hey, that's weird." Bloom suddenly said, raising her phone above the table. "My phone doesn't work."

"Here, I love taking these things apart." Tecna took the phone from Bloom, merely looked at it and began to laugh. "Well, no wonder. This phone is ancient, It belongs in a museum."

"I just got this and it's only been out for a few months!" Bloom cried, Tecna shrugged and gave her a card instead.

"Here's my calling card, you can use it until I upgrade this."

Bloom dashed off to use the nearest pay phone, while the rest of them either continued eating or drank their cappuccinos.

"So, Ariana." Musa said, leaning across the table. "What kind of music do you like?"

"Anything that relaxes me, or something to listen to while I go out jogging." Alice stated, and Stella pulled a face.

"You go out jogging? Do you think we could do some morning jogging before classes start?" Flora asked, excited.

"Yeah, we could totally do that! I can provide those sick beats for us!" Musa smiled.

"Really? You guys would jog with me?" Alice hadn't had anyone to jog with before. "What about you, Stella?"

"Sorry, I'd rather catch up on beauty sleep than getting all sweaty - that's a man's job." She stated, looking at her nails.

They all laughed.

When half an hour passed, they started getting restless and Bloom was still missing.

"Where is Varanda?" Tecna asked, looking around.

"I don't know, I can't see her. Let's go look for her." Flora said, and they all got up and headed towards the payphone. "She's not here."

Alice took the payphone off of the rack. "Well, she was in no struggle - that's for sure."

"How do you know that?" Musa asked, and Alice mentally scratched her head.

"Oh, uh...I watch enough NCIS programmes to know." _Sorry Dad, you really are the best police officer - really._

"Let's split up." Stella said. "Musa and I will go search in the square, Flora and Tecna will double back, and Ariana will check the alleys." They separated to look for Bloom, all following leader Stella's orders. It was getting dark, and Alice didn't like it so the quicker she found Bloom - the better.

Laughing. Evil laughing.

It was coming from the alley down to the right. Alice turned but quickly jumped back and hid behind the wall.

Was it just her imagination or was Bloom encased in ice?

"She won't last long, good work Icy." The purple clothed triplet stated.

"Why thank you Darcy." The one who must be Icy stated, her hand still extended. "It's just what meddlesome little fairies get for getting in the way."

 _These girls...They must be from Cloud Tower!_

Everyone had received orders to avoid them at all costs, but when a comrade is down - you can't leave them behind right?

"Hey you! Yeah you with the bad taste in clothes!" _I'm one to talk._ "Why don't you fight someone your own size?!"

"We will." The one with crazy hair said. "What size are you? 5,2?"

"5,3 actually!" Alice shouted, probably to a pointless question.

"We are Cloud Tower senior witches, so no one messes with us! Just tell us where Princess Stella is, and we'll let your little friend go!"

"What?" Alice gasped. Sacrificing a friend to save another? Well that's just cruel! "I'll never tell you!" She stood in front of Bloom, her arms spread out. "I won't let you get to Bloom either!"

"Have it your way, you'll end up the same way." Icy called out something, and a blast of Ice came Alice's way.

Alice kept her head low. _Is this it then? Is this how it's going to end?_

"Dimentis Shield!"

Alice looked up to see that she was saved by a boy, a boy with wings.

* * *

A boy with short blonde hair was in front of her, when he turned around to face her and flashed her one of those boyish smirks; she automatically noted that he was gorgeous.

"You alright there?" He asked in a voice that could make any girl swoon.

After a moment, she finally nodded - because there was currently something in her throat blocking her from answering.

Alice heard the cavalry coming, in the form of the others; with different outfits and wings. All of them began fighting with the witches, it looked like they had the upper hand until the witch with crazy hair blasted them back with a tornado. Icy began to conjure up more of her magic to finish them, Alice jumped up from her position; shielding them from the blast. Her hands held out in front of her, and a bright light took over her vision and her senses.

Until she couldn't feel anything.

"Alice! Wake up!" Alice's vision began blurry. "Wake up!"

The girls crowded around Alice, but Bloom was sitting on the sidewalk shivering - the boy who saved Alice wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. _What a gentleman._

"Stella? Why did you call 'Ariana' Alice, and Varanda 'Bloom'?" A voice cried. It looks like their cover was blown already.

Stella just laughed awkwardly. "It's kinda a long story. Look, we'll give you the details once we get back to Alfea."

* * *

They all walked back to Alfea in the dark, Alice sat beside Bloom on the bus wanting to do something more for her; but she didn't know what. The boy that had saved them both had disappeared off to some place else while they had arrived at the front gates.

"I think...I think I want tell Ms. Faragonda the truth." Bloom stated. The others seemed to refuse to talk to her or Alice on the bus, it was pretty quiet.

"Me too, It's exhausting..." Alice muttered.

"We'll do that tomorrow, but right now; I'm tired so we have to sneak back into the school, follow me." Stella exclaimed to the group, but before the six of them even got to move, they were blinded by the courtyard flood lights.

"FREEZE!" Funnily enough, you couldn't help but freeze when that kind of voice boomed at you. It was kind of like the voice that Alice's father boomed out when an armed robber tried to escape from the crime scene.

Before we knew it, Ms. Fairagonda and Ms. Griselda came out of the shadows.

"Do you have ANY idea what time it is? We were worried about you girls!" _I doubt you were very worried, Grisly Bear._ "We will have to talk about this tomorrow."

While the others began to walk off, Ms. Griselda stopped Bloom and Alice. "Hold it right there, girls! What did you want to tell Ms. Fairagonda and what danger were you in today?"

"Well, the truth is...Me and Alice aren't from Vallisto," Bloom admitted. "Nor are we princesses."

"And...we got cornered by some witches, but a boy with wings saved us." Alice added.

"Prince Julian too?!" Griselda sighed. "Plus, you've broken two rules within your first day!"

"We're sorry, we're sorry, we're sorry." Bloom and Alice kept bowing in front of her.

"But you have to both be magical creatures or the barrier would have kept you out of Magix. So who are you and why did you lie to us?"

"Don't blame Bloom and Alice! It was all my idea!" Stella blurted out.

"My name is Alice, and this is bloom. We come from Earth." Bloom gave a shy wave, even though it definitely was NOT the time for that.

"Earth? As in Planet Earth?! How can that be possible?!" _STOP SHOUTING PLEASE, SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP. EHEM. Not me of course._

"PLEASE don't send us away! This is the most amazing place with the most amazing people ever!" Bloom pleaded in desperation.

"Well, for punishment; you should be turned into something slimy-" Griselda began, but was caught off by Ms. Fairagonda's hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on there," She said, smiling. "It took a lot of courage for the girls to own up to something like this. I say that we give them a chance. They could take the spots of the two princesses who have been home-schooled." She looked at Stella, who gave a weird chuckle. "Now all of you off to bed. And try to be good?"

"Yes ma'am!" We all raced to our big apartment, Alice and Bloom flung themselves onto Alice's bed and sighed in relief. Flora began to plait Alice's hair as Tecna got the munchies for them to eat and Musa put on some music. Stella relaxed into a chair in the corner of the room, holding her hands out like it's no big thing.

"I told you that Ms. F was amazing, didn't I?"

 _She's letting us stay...? This must be a dream, she let us off to easily. Not like I'm complaining, I've got a long day tomorrow - and I've gotta meet that boy that saved us again._


	12. Chapter 3: Save the First Dance

Breakfast was a FEAST. Each table was lined by toast, butter, cereals, hot foods, and sweets for anyone with a sweet tooth. Alice clocked the little sachets that looked like nutella, and scooped them into her little book bag before she turned around and bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going-" She looked up, realising immediately who it was. "Its you!"

"Its fine, in fact; I don't mind in the slightest, having a cute girl bump into me." He smirked, brushing his fingers through her hair. "I'm Julian by the way, Prince of Dimensia.""Oh, uh, that's nice." Alice uttered awkwardly. "I'm Alice, of...the planet Earth."'

"An Earth fairy, eh? Well this is going to get interesting." Julian said with a grin. "I've never been with an Earth fairy, word on the street is that they all went extinct." "Sorryihaveaboyfriendandohlookatthetimegottagobye!" Alice scurried off and out of the door where she saw Bloom and the others waiting for her. Luckily, they all had the same class together.

* * *

The first class of the day was metamorphosis which was taught by professor Wizgiz, and he was actually a very small leprechaun with long elf ears and a green wizard hat. He happened to be a nice teacher, rivalling the head mistress. The first interactive task of the day was to change hair colour. Small mirrors appeared out of nowhere and hovered above everyone's desks, as everyone took one; the enchantment broke from them.

It seemed as if everyone was managing to do this; the class filled with rainbow colours. When Bloom tried it, nothing happened.

'When I tried it, my hair just happened to catch fire...' Alice thought, after all classes were finished she headed up to the shared dorms and sat on the bed as Flora tried many spells to fix Alice's hair.

"It seems like everything blows up in your face lately." Stella said, filing her nails down.

Alice sticks out her tongue at her. "Do you have to say that so casually?"

"Look, our classes are over so we can just enjoy ourselves for the rest of the night." Musa said, twirling in the spot to the music she had on. "Besides, your practically little firsties; so it won't come naturally to you on the first day."

"Yeah, but we aren't first years," Bloom pointed out. "We are in the same year as you guys."

"Don't worry." Flora answered with her silky reassuring voice. "We'll help you catch up with everything we've learned too."

That night, the hall was filled with chatter and more food. The tables were aligned with nothing but food, but since Alice ate a good half of those Nutella packets and had a bit of a sore stomach; she decided that some toast would be just fine. Before she managed to take a bite of the smallest dinner she has ever had, Ms. Fairagonda stood up from her throne like seat at the top teacher table and tapped her tea spoon against her glass.

"Young ladies, may I have your attention please?" _Wow, the whole room just went quiet like she asked them to...We're not in Kansas anymore Toto._ "To kick off the year, we will be hosting a formal dance for Alfea and Read Fountain School for Heroics and Bravery! And it will take place tomorrow night!"

'Whooo! I get to see my spandex dudes!' Alice thought, excited to see the boys again so soon. Maybe this is what they meant.

"But not TOO friendly!" Griselda barked again, reminding everyone that we need to keep this rated U. _What? You say that you don't like my humour? Wasn't this the main purpose WHY you are listening to my story?_ "Chaperones will be present and love potions are forbidden!"

"But dancing is encouraged!" Fairagonda encouraged with a smile that could take you over the rainbow to the pot of gold on the other side. "And the boys will bring surprise gifts! I hope you will all have a lovely time!"

Some of the girls squealed, Bloom and Stella were obviously excited; but Alice just huffed as she took some more Nutella packets that would last her through the night.

* * *

The next morning, Bloom and Alice sat on Alice's bed as the others showed off their brilliant dresses; it seemed like they were all colour co-ordinated according with their personality, and with their realm.

"Hey guys, what's wrong?" Stella asked.

Alice sighed. "I can't dance..."

"Plus, we don't have anything formal to wear..." Bloom continued.

Stella smiled and shook her head. "Fret not, my dears, because in this situation; there is only one solution."

Alice's eyes widened. 'Oh no.'

"SHOPPING!" They all shouted, minus Alice who flopped back on the bed.

Stella guided them to the town immediately with the frequent protest of Alice, who was dragged along by Musa and Tecna so she couldn't get away. Flora and Stella kept pointing out dresses that would suit Alice and Bloom, but Alice couldn't help but take her eyes away from every one she even stared at. It wasn't like she had ever been in love with clothes shopping, because she hated it. Alice just viewed it as a time consumer, and the sundown peaking over the shop buildings seemed to agree with her.

"It's already 5." Musa pointed out. "We need to hurry this along."

"Well, why don't you take Alice to a few more shops and I'll see what I can find?" Bloom asked, trying to stifle a giggle when she saw Alice's face. If looks could truly kill.

"Come on Alice, it's not that bad if you think about it." Stella pointed out.

"No, Stella, it really is..." Alice huffed.

"I'll meet you guys later!" Bloom called as she ran off in the other direction.

The rest of them headed in the other direction, hoping to find a dress for Alice soon. Not like Alice was really looking anyway, but a few stores later, Alice clocked the most beautiful dress she had ever seen at the back of the store; forgotten, unknown to any other eye but hers.

She smiled, as she went to try it on. When she emerged from the changing room and did a twirl, the others gasped in delight.

"This is the one, guys!" Alice exclaimed.

The others cheered, crowding around her and throwing complements at her. Stella looked at the price tag. "It sure does cost a lot though, are you sure you can cover it?" Stella took out her card.

Flora put a hand on Stella's arm. "You maxed it out, remember?"

Stella giggled, embarrassed. "Oh yeah."

"It's fine guys." Alice said. "My dad works in the Police Force, so my pocket money is not stingy." She took off the dress and paid the nice lady at the desk.

They all began to head back to the apartment, where they got changed and put on a few extra accessories. Alice tightened a gold necklace around her neck, it hung in strings of gold beads of different sizes.

"You look amazing Alice." Flora pointed out with a smile.

"Thanks." Alice said, scratching the back of her head. Stella came over and took her arm and put it back down at her side.

"Maybe it was manners that we had to be more serious about." Stella said. "Come on Alice! Think of all the cute boys you get to meet, they'd be DYING to talk to you looking like this and if you act like a Princess."

Stella placed a book on top of Alice's head. "Balance that until we have to go."

"Yes, Princess Stella. Whatever you say, Princess Stella." Alice chanted, making the others laugh.

The time soon passed, and they made their way to the hall. All the tables and the chairs had magically vanished, a band was playing in the corner and all the other girls who had arrived previously chatted excitedly to each other.

"Bloom's taking her time." Alice pointed out.

"Yeah, she's going to miss it all." Stella answered, pointing in excitement at the racing bikes heading their way. "Look! There they are!"

'But they are heading right for the windows!' Alice thought in panic, stepping back.

In fact, they did crash through the windows; but the windows did not break. It seemed like the windows were just like a pool of water as they emerged from them. The boys on the bikes rode over the walls until they swerved at the entrance of the hall, a little stocky man strode out of the window too, standing beside the head mistress. More boys filed into the room in two straight lines, six of which gave a torch lit with a blue flame to the bikers who rode their way over the walls in figure eights. A few others began freerunning, and others set off harmless indoor fireworks. It was just magnificent, to say the least. Once in a lifetime, never see again kind of thing.

Everything soon calmed down, the bikers parking their bikes where they stopped them and strode over to various girls in the audience; one came over to Alice, twirling his torch and it turned into a delicate rose.

"T-Thank you." Alice stuttered, earning her a boyish smirk and a bow. Alice heard the others giggle behind her, but she really couldn't care.

"Shall we?" He asked, in a kind voice. Why was it that he looked just like that fairy boy, but with black hair?

"Go have fun!" Stella exclaimed, pushing Alice into the boy. As soon as Alice fell into him, he took her hands and walked her out onto the middle of the dance floor. Alice just stared at her feet, nervous.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"I can't dance..." She said.

"It's easy, just stay light on your feet and let me guide you; it will come naturally." He smiled.

 _You're in my arms_

 _and all the world is gone_

 _the music playing on_

 _for only two_

 _so close together_

 _and when I'm with you_

 _so close to feeling alive_

They turned around to face each other, he nodded and smiled reassuringly. He clasped his hand in hers, with his other hand he guided her arm to rest on his shoulder.

"Are you ready?" He asked, she nodded with a gulp.

 _A life goes by_

He stepped forward as she stepped back, twirling around the dance floor.

 _Romantic dreams must die_

 _So I bid mine goodbye_

 _And never knew_

 _So close was waiting_

 _Waiting here with you_

They let go of each other and stood back, he took her hand and raised it up with his as they begun side stepping with each other.

 _And now forever I know_

 _all that I want is_

 _to hold you_

He raised their arms into the air, prompting her to twirl her into him. As her back now faced him, her hand instinctively took his as they swayed back and forth. He twirled with her once again.

 _So close_

 _so close to reaching_

 _that famous happy ending_

 _almost believing_

He threw her away from him as she twirled once more.

 _This one's not pretend_

 _Now you're beside me_

He stepped forward to catch her, returning to a waltz.

 _And look how far we've come_

 _so far_

 _we are_

 _so close_

"Girls!" Bloom rushed into the room, still in her usual clothing that she always wore. a few people looked at her strangely. "I have to talk to you!"

Alice looked at Bloom's face, seeing the panic in her eyes. "I'm sorry, emergency; gotta go." She let go of him, and then rushed over to the rest of the girls. As the music continued on, Bloom soon explained everything that she saw: the Witches, the exact same ones that they fought the other day, were here! And they did something to the gifts the boys were going to present to the the girls of Alfea. Alice did not fail to notice that the boy she was dancing with was now dancing with another girl.

"I heard something about snakerats." Bloom explained. Tecna quickly pulled out her phone, which projected like a hologram as she searched for the creature. It said that if they bite you, then you could puke. Admittedly, that did not sound very pleasing.

"Ewww!" Stella squealed like the girl she is. "I bet those witches are just jealous because we are dancing with the boys!"

"Actually," Bloom started. "They're not after the boys at all. They're after your ring, Stella!"

"Yeah, but what do we do about the gifts?" Flora asked them.

"It's cool, no sweat. We'll grab them before the boys can get them," answered Musa.

"You may want to rethink that strategy!" Alice said in panic, pointing to the door. Brandon, who for some reason is under as a alias for Sky, and Timmy were both hauling a huge chest on the floor. They opened it and there they were; striped eggs. What were they? Pets?

"Don't see the snakerats though." Alice pointed out.

"They're supposed to hatch from inside the eggs," Bloom replied.

Stella clicked her fingers. "We need a counter spell - and fast!" She said, as they all joined hands with the girls beside them and formed a circle. "Focus your Winx, now girls!"

They all closed their eyes and began to chant, a glowing light formed from beneath arm level in their circle and made its way through the many couples dancing to the chest of the eggs. The chest lit up and the striped eggs were replaced with a diamond orange pattern. Brandon, who for some reason resumed the name of Sky, pulled an egg out of the box to give to a girl. As she opened it, her face filled with wonder as small butterflies burst from it with an enchanting glow.

Alice stumbled a little, one of the side effects of a powerful spell and yet - her first!

"Here you go, Stella." Brandon smiled, showing her one of the eggs.

She snatched it from his hands, holding it possessively from him. "An enchanted little egg. Thank you."

"Let me see it!" Musa playfully grabbed it from Stella's arms and inspected it. "hey, anyone remember the spell of the month from Teen Fairy?"

 _Should I? Since, you know, I was completely unaware of my fairy powers until a few days ago?_

"Yeah I do," Flora said, taking the egg from Musa. "Let's give those witches a taste of their own medicine, shall we?" She chanted something in her same silky voice, and the egg glowed yet again. For a moment, the shape of a duck's beak shadowed from inside of the egg.

"What was that?" Bloom asked.

"The spell of the month from Teen Fairy." Flora stated. "Those witches are going to have quite the cute and furry problem on their hands." She then pointed to Bloom's clothes. "You should get into your dress now."

As Bloom took off and out of the room, Stella went off with Brandon and Tecna went over to speak with Timmy about computers. It seemed like they had so much in common.

Later on, Ms. Fairagonda walked up to Alice and Musa saying something about how the band was taking a break.

"I have something to ask of you two." She said. "Will you entertain us with your beautiful singing?"

Musa gave Alice a terrified look.

"You'll be fine, go." Alice said with a smile.

"You too, Alice." Ms. Fairagonda said, with that same smile that should be against the law in a situation like this. "I heard from Prince Sky that you are an amazing singer."

 _Wait, Brandon right? He is SO going to get it later._

They both went up onto the stage, beginning to sing slow songs. Well, Musa did. Alice just mouthed the words, because...she didn't want to ruin Musa's limelight. Yeah.

After two songs, Alice decided to leave the stage and head off to somewhere quiet where she nursed her slightly aching head with the circular motions of her finger against her forehead.

"Alice, right?" A voice called from beside her, as she turned around she saw the shining smile of the male fairy.

Alice looked at him with a bored expression. "Shouldn't you be inside, I don't know, being fawned at by girls?"

"You sound jealous." He chuckled, sitting down beside her.

"Sorry, I don't fall for guys I've only just met."

"I wouldn't call it falling for someone." She turned to face him, he was looking down at his feet. "I'm just an easy target."

"I wouldn't say that." She said, thinking. "I've had many fake friends before, but none of them stay around long enough to get to know me. While your fangirls practically know everything about you."

He smirked again. "Touché."

They remained in silence for a while.

"I see that you and my brother were getting friendly." He broke the silence.

"We were just dancing." She pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "And he's your brother?"

"I know." He looked at the sky with a sad smile. "It's just that, I hate the fact that he's so popular. He thinks he can have everything." He scrunched up his fist. "He's hurt me so much all my life that I hate it when he's happy."

And so he told her everything within the space of an hour, how Toma's mother died of a mysterious illness - causing their father to go into a deep depression. Until he met Julian's mother, who was the Celestial Fairy who roamed the lands of Dimensia. She had Julian, but because the powers of a Celestial Fairy outwitted that of his sword master father - Julian became the first male fairy ever. He used to get bullied a lot for it, and he was told that he could not apply to go to Red Fountain where his brother was going. It made him feel out of place, and even his brother bullied him for it so he did the only thing he thought was possible - try to act brave.

Sensing the rage building up inside Julian, she grasped his fist and tried to comfort him.

"I think you are trying too hard to be someone you are not, you're sort of like me. I was always different as well, no one from my school liked 'different' so I tried to fit in, like the things that other people liked although I didn't really like them. It's not worth trying to fit in, I figured that it was okay to be different. So I just fought for my own, and held my head up high. I didn't need friends." She smiled. "Until I met a bunch of misfits who crashed their ship into my back garden last year, who just happen to be my best friends."

"...Do you think I could have true friends?"

"Well, you can have me." She looked up into the sky. "It still doesn't excuse what those people have done to you, but it will heal a few wounds."

"I'm sorry I put all that on you, especially since tonight is supposed to be fun." She waved him off with a smile. "You're amazing at persuading people." He said.

A shooting star crossed the sky, leaving bright lights and white lines within it's wake.

"I just have a good family."

Alice imagined the faces of her dear mother and father, what they have done for her, what they have done for other people, her aunt and her weird way of showing affection to her dad - and she wondered when she'd get to see them all again.

She missed them already.

* * *

Alice and Julian slow danced around the gardens, talking and laughing as they did; the sounds of nature their only music.

"You look beautiful, my lady." He said against her ear, making her bury her face into the crook of his neck to hide her smile and the hint of a blush on her cheeks.

"Why, thank you; kind sir. I have to say you look rather dashing yourself." Her accent was a bit off since she had never been posh or known anyone posh in her whole life, but it still got a rather good laugh out of him.

"I'm being serious."

"And you think I wasn't?" Alice raised one of her eyebrows. "Fine, you look better than the jumpsuit guys."

"Well, that's rather easy to do I think. I never actually see them out of those things." He smiled.

Alice scrunched up her nose. "I don't think I'd even want to, in that matter." She said. "Do you know how much they could probably sweat in those things?"

"I've never thought about it, but it's still a pretty bad fashion statement." He commented.

"Here, here." She cheered.

If Alice had spidey-sense, she swore that she felt it tingling. It sounded like someone was shouting, and eruptions of noise could be heard only to those who were outside. They both ran to the front of the school, just to see the girls surrounding someone who appeared as if she was crawling. Alice soon realized who it was.

"Bloom!" Alice's eyes widened, as she dashed forward and pushed the other girls away to get a better view of her next door neighbour - now practically her dorm mate. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." She spoke, but seemed rather upset. "I have good news and I have bad news...The good news is that I finally transformed! I grew my wings and it was totally awesome! But...They have Stella's ring! The Witches took your ring, Stella!"

"I don't think so," Giggled Flora. "Remember the spell I cast? The spell of the month from Teen Fairy?"

"Yeah, but what did it do?" Bloom asked. For a moment there was silence, but then the others burst out laughing.

* * *

Alice walked through the corridors in the school at night, thinking about the past two days and heaved a sigh. She stopped in front of a random door and lent against it; sliding down until she was hugging her knees.

After a minute, the door opened suddenly; making her fall flat on her back. When she looked up, she saw a slightly dishevelled Julian.

Alice narrowed her eyes. "Trust this door to be yours."

"I didn't really expect girls to literally jump from my door." He said, brushing through his blonde hair. "What's on your mind?"

She covered her eyes with her hands. "Why is it that, I haven't even grown my wings, when I already believe in fairies? I've already seen them, so why...?"

He sat down beside her, and lay down. "Easy, your friend managed to transform because she already believes that she is a fairy; and she is confident in her power." He said. "Meanwhile, you must not."


	13. Chapter 4: The Voice of Nature

"Swamp time!" Alice cried. Finally there was some normalness in all this magic business, just some nice nostalgic mud - bringing her back to her childhood on Earth when she and Bloom used to have mud fights, then then get told off by their mothers who had to spend hours getting those stains out. Today they were standing in the middle of Black Mud Swamp, clad in camouflaged dungarees which to Alice was the best fashion statement of the year, getting ready for their first class field trip for the Magic of Nature. The Professor's nose wiggled as if in distaste.

"Welcome class, to the Black Mud Swamp." Professor Palladium greeted them. "And to...-" His nose wiggled once again until his eyes became half-lidded, he rose his hands to his nose as he let out a disgusting noise from his mouth. "R-Right as you can sneeze, I mean, as you can see; I'm slightly allergic to the sap from the Igglethord Vine. Now, this is your first field exercise for the Magic of Nature."

"I'm in the wrong class!" Dhalia, a girl in our class, complained to all her friends and the teacher. "I'm from the Urban Realm!"

"A well-rounded education is what Alfea is all about, Dhalia." Professor Palladium remarked.

"But a Keekbug bit me!"

For some reason, the professor seemed more squeamish than when he first arrived. "Ahh, Keekbug?! Well the quicker we bite on with, ah, I mean get on with the exomite, I mean exercise...hehe..."

"It's a bit weird. For a nature professor, he's rather squeamish." Bloom pointed out.

"There's a word for that you know, Irony." Stella sighed before she giggled.

"Now, this field exercise is designed to test your natural ability to listen to the Voice of Nature that is always present." Professor Palladium explained. "Each group must navigate through Black Mud Swamp and find the Crystal Clearing."

"Wait for the catch." Julian said from behind Alice, making her jump.

"Would you not do that?!" Alice hissed.

"Here's the catch-"

"Told you." Julian smirked boyishly, and Alice muttered something under her breath about the coincidence of him being in all her classes.

"-You may not use any magic." Professor Palladium continued. "Only the Voice of Nature will be your guide, and remember everyone, it isn't enough to just hear the Voice; you must listen to it as well."

"Wait a minute professor!" Alice yelled, but he had already vanished. The explanation was all and well, but she still had no idea what to do. It wasn't like she could even use magic anyway, she hadn't even managed to transform yet; she was probably the only person in the school who could not transform yet, even Bloom managed to a few days ago which just meant that Alice was left out. Soon enough, everyone had formed into groups until there was only Alice, Bloom, Stella, Musa, Flora, Tecna and Julian in the clearing.

"No reason to stand around and gab," Flora said. "Let's start looking." They all nodded and started to follow her into the Swamp water.

"Oh this place is...EW!" Alice fell backwards and into the Swamp water when Stella pushed her away while squirming and prancing on the spot. "Something is crawling on my leg!"

Alice glared at the Blonde. "Yeah? Well, thanks to you, I'll have something crawling _all over me now_."

"You know Stella," Musa started, just as Julian walked over to Alice to help her up. "What happened to "Mud does wonders to my complexion?"

"Just so you know, these bubbles could indicate that we're standing on the back of a subterranean Sludge Slug." Tecna pointed out. "They're not friendly, but don't worry, I'll take care of it. A Standby Spell ought to do the trick-"

"Tecna! Wait! We can't use magic!" Bloom warned. "Let's use our senses and the Voices of Nature."

"I think the Voice of Nature is calling me right now." Alice grunted. "I can feel it crawling up my skin!"

"Be serious!" Bloom complained.

"I am being serious! Someone sort out this crawling feeling all over my body, PLEASE." Alice cried.

"I don't feel like using my senses, because it absolutely stinks!" Stella cried. "It smells like some old socks!"

"Or poisonous gas!" Musa shouted to the others. "Let's bounce!"

They all ran out of the swamp water, Alice being carried by Julian, as the bubbles merged together and made one giant purple bubble.

"Take cover!" Flora yelled.

The bubble erupted, spraying a puff of gas that turned a tree to stone.

"Medusa Gas." Flora stated as she got back up again. "It could have turned us all to stone. See that tree?"

"Why do they have classes like this if they know we will get into danger?" Alice shrieked.

"It's just survival skills. Sometimes you can get into fixes if you only rely on your magic." Julian pointed out. "Albeit, severe survival skills."

Alice threw her arms up into the air. "I'M NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS!"

Flora giggled. "Yes you are, now lets go."

After a while of travelling, Alice soon saw a familiar sight shoot through the sky. A little bit of nostalgia filled her.

"It's a Red Fountain ship!" Bloom exclaimed. "Come on!"

Stella, who hadn't seen the ship swirling in the air, sighed in relief. "We're saved!"

"No, I think she means that it's hurtling right towards us!" Alice jumped awkwardly out of Julian's arms and grabbed his wrist and Musa's before she began to run for it. "RUN!"

They all bolted away from the ship that was getting closer and closer to them. The ship crashed into the earth, sending them all flying into the air. Smoke began to rise from the engine and the walkway soon cracked open, and the Specialists jogged unceremoniously out of the ship and fell to the ground.

"Don't have much luck with those things, do you?!" Alice huffed loudly, still trying to catch her breath. "Next time, employ a qualified flier!"

"I _am_ a qualified flier!" Brandon, who was posing as Sky ( _Why have I STILL not gotten an explanation with all this?! I KNOW who's who.) ,_ cried in protest.

"Is everyone okay?" Timmy asked.

They all muttered their 'Yes''s in sync. They all gathered in to help the others.

"You guys always crash that thing, insurance must suck." Alice said, grabbing Riven's hand to pull him out from underneath the ship.

"It wasn't a crash," Riven protested. "It was more like an emergency landing." He grinned a little at her and she smirked back at him.

"We were actually delivering a very important package to-" Sky, or 'Brandon', started.

"The Troll, it's gone!" Brandon, the REAL Brandon _(WHY MUST YOU COMFUSE ME SO?),_ yelled.

"You guys let a TROLL escape?" Stella accused.

"We didn't let anything escape." Riven growled at her. "The ship had a little malfunction, but we've got him in shackles so he can't get very far."

"You mean those things that are lying on the ground?" Musa accused. "And those foot prints that are heading further into the swamp?"

"Perfect place for the guy I think." Stella nodded. "Trolls are naturally smelly anyway!"

"SOO," Brandon said loudly. "What brings you guys here?"

"We're on a field trip for nature class." Alice started, startled when Riven began tapping her lightly on the shoulder.

"Then you go back to your little exercise, girls, and leave this problem to the Specialists." Riven ordered, Alice raised her one of her eyebrows. "We'll handle it on our own."

"Oh yeah? Perfect example of 'handling the problem' you've shown already, you sure your cut out for this Riven?" Alice turned to the other girls. "When do you think the real Specialists will get here?"

Riven growled at her. "Look, just because you've never had any true friends; it doesn't mean that you get to treat people like that."

Alice poked his chest, watching him angrily. "Right back at yah, paal!" She shouted boldly in his face. "My dad is in the Police Force, it's second nature; so what's your excuse?!"

"Aaw, depend on daddy to fight your battles now do you; A-Lice?" Riven smirked.

Alice growled at him. "Riven, enough." Sky yelled. "What he means to say is that it's best to leave the Troll to us, so that you can finish your class assignment."

"I can tell them to bug off myself." Riven stated, making Alice storm away from him.

"Hey!" Julian sighed, following after her.

* * *

"Look, Holy Devine God or whatever you are that made me a Fairy, GRANT ME MY MAGIC SO I CAN BLAST SOME IN HIS FACE!" Alice yelled into the sky, when she had ran far enough away from the group.

"I don't think it works like that." Julian spoke up, she turned around to look at him.

"Yeah, well he deserves it!" Alice glared.

"That doesn't matter, what does is that you were encouraging it." Julian pointed out.

Alice sighed. "Alright fine." She muttered.

"I agree that he was being arrogant, and he shouldn't have said what he said." Julian began. "You have a lot of friends now, despite of what has happened in the past."

"There was still no need for it."

* * *

Julian and Alice returned to the rest of the girls, the Specialists had already left.

"Hey girl, you okay?" Musa asked, concerned.

"Yeah..." Alice muttered, feeling betrayed by Riven and especially the others. Was this the cost of not seeing them for a full year? That they'd surely just drift apart?

"Maybe we should go after them." Bloom pointed out, looking in the direction that they presumably went.

"Not after the crummy Riven-tude we just received!" Stella shrieked.

"That was really rude of him. We should just get back to our assignment." Flora stated.

"Flora's right, Bloom! I don't think Alice really wants to help him at the moment," Stella agreed, pointing to Alice with her thumb. "If Riven wants to get eaten, I say, bon voyage to him!"

"That's a bit dark, don't you think Stella?" Musa smirked.

"Yeah well, he deserves it." Stella huffed.

"Something's weird here." Tecna interrupted, she was inspecting the ship all this time. "Did you guys notice the big hole? The burnt markings surrounding the broken metal, the metal is bent inwards- meaning that whatever caused this did not occur from the inside, but the outside!"

"So, in less technical speech, someone on the outside shot it down." Alice pointed out.

"Precisely."

Alice balled her fist. "Let's make our own search then, let's prove to Riven that we can do this!"

"But our assignment-" Bloom started.

"If we do this, it may get us to our checkpoint faster." Alice interrupted. "Who's in with me?"

"Well I am, nothing to really lose-" Julian started, then turned to Alice with a smug grin on his face. "-Plus, I get to hang out with a bunch of cute girls."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Do you actually expect us to swoon with that remark?"

"Come on, I see that your melting inside." Julian laughed.

"Well then," Musa called out. "The sooner we are out of this swamp the better."

"And the sooner I can get a bath!" Stella cried.

"No way!" Alice shrieked. "You pushed me into said swamp Stella, I get first dibs!"

"Yeah well, I'm going to be a fashion designer! I need to be in top form!" Stella shrieked back.

"I'm in." Bloom stated.

"Me too." Flora smiled.

"And you all know that you could never get anywhere without me, so let's go girls!" Tecna cried, and they all cheered. "...and Julian."

* * *

"AAAAAAAH!" Stella screamed like a mad woman as she dangled upside down from a magical plant that held her in the air by her ankle.

"I Recognise these plants, they are Quietus Carnivorous! They only get mad if you make noise!" Flora hissed to the rest of the gang who weren't airborne.

"Stop screaming, Stella!" Alice shouted, quickly dodging a root as it swung it's way towards her. She still wasn't very stable on her feet.

Stella closed her eyes, found herself in her own happy place, and the plants finally let her go; into the watery muck.

Alice had to hold her hand against her mouth to muffle the laughter that would follow, as she watched Julian pulling Stella out of it.

"Eeew." Stella sighed with a curled lip, her clothes were now ruined. _Payback for pushing me in, Stella._

Then a familiar scream sounded off in the distance.

Alice looked to the others, and the others looked at her. "Sounds like they do need our help, guys."

As they turned around the bend of the bent slimy trees, they soon came to face the Specialists dangling from the plants that they had previously been captured by.

"Careful! These are man eating plants!" Riven yelled, and Alice gave a triumphant sigh.

"What were you saying about being able to do this on your own?" Alice taunted, as Flora started using her magic to calm the plants down which in turn released the boys onto the ground with a large thud.

"Let's get away from these things." Bloom stated before they hurried away from the area.

To Stella's greatest joy, they were now out of the deepest part of the swamp.

"Now that we're all here, I suggest that we go look for that troll together." Alice noted. "The rest of our classmates could be in danger right now because they aren't aware of a troll on the loose."

"Alice is right." Brandon, Sky, agreed. "We can't let this get anymore out of hand." He then turned to Riven. "So if your not prepared to work with a _bunch of girls_ then your own your own, buddy."

Riven reluctantly followed after them with a dour look on his face, they soon came to a swamped lake - it's currents were so fast that they could sweep them off stream if they tried to swim across. Then Alice noticed the rocks in the water, they could be used as stepping stones. By looking at Tecna, who was in front of her, she could see that the technology wise girl had also the same idea.

"Looks like the only way to get across is to jump." She said, before flinging herself off the earth and onto a slippery stone. Once she got her balance again, she turned back to them. "Come on guys, it's fun!"

They all began hopping on the stones, the breeze against their ankles with the flowing tide was refreshing but also let them get a whiff of the nasty smell of the swamp.

"Ah! Made it across!" Alice shouted with glee, receiving a high five from Sky (Brandon).

"Aaah!" Riven screamed, Alice turned around and clocked Riven in the water. In the currents that were strong enough to render him incapable of using his limbs. She hurried over just as Timmy grabbed Tecna's legs to save her from falling in while saving Riven, and grabbed onto Timmy - knowing that we would not be able to bear the weight of Riven and Tecna alone with his lanky body. Soon the others joined in as well and finally managed to get Riven out.

Riven huffed and panted when they dragged him up on his back, and he stayed on land for a moment to get a rest.

"I hope your ego is stunted..." Alice whispered as she helped him up and continued to support his weight with hers, she didn't mind getting met. At least it washed out a bit of the mud she got on her clothes earlier.

"So Riven," Stella cooed, with a smirk tugging at her lips. "Still think you could have survived without us?"

"I would have eventually gotten out myself." Riven complained.

"As you washed up on shore." Alice replied smugly.

Riven looked to Alice for a moment, and just for a second - his eyes turned a little softer.

Suddenly, the whole swamp shook with a loud roar coming from not too far away, and then some loud girlish screaming.

"That's our classmates!" Musa exclaimed.

"Oh dear!" Flora worried.

"I see him!" Alice hissed, watching a big yellow troll back two girls into the rocks of the bottom of a cliff.

"Alright, here's the plan." Sky, Brandon, said. "Phase one: The girls will distract the troll. Phase two: Brandon, Julian, and Timmy'll pin him down, and then Riven and I will slip the shackles on him." He sounded very sure that his plan will work.

"No." Alice disagreed. Everyone looked at her in question. "I will take Riven's place."

"What?!" Riven yelped, and then settled down a bit when she looked at him seriously. It reminded him of the night before they left her a year ago, and she hadn't changed a bit.

"Your body is still too weak to handle something like this, so it's best if I go in your place." She stated. "My dad is in the Police Force, so I picked up a few things from him. So just believe in me, and I will do this."

Riven's cheeks tinted pink a little bit, and then he nodded. Gulping down more of his pride.

As Alice carefully set Riven down by the nearest tree, the rest of the girls sidled away from them and into the view of the troll.

"Hey! you!" Musa yelled.

"Remember us?" Bloom taunted.

"Long time no see!" Stella cried, giggling nervously. Making the beast roared. "Well don't be shy! Get over here and pass out hugs!" As if on cue, the beast came lumbering towards them.

Julian, Brandon and Timmy ran over and jumped on his back with electrical ropes and tied them at either end of the troll.

"Put on the shackles!" Brandon, Sky, yelled back towards Alice and Sky.

"I've got my side on!" Alice yelled over to Sky, Brandon, and tried to see what the other was doing. "What's taking so long?!"

"I'm trying to-!" He cried, fidgeting with the shackles. Alice shook her head and ran towards him to help with the shackles, bad mistake. The troll broke free and flung Julian, Brandon and Timmy away and he began to stomp his way towards Alice - his big foot aiming to flatten her...

"Alice!" Sky, Brandon, yelped. He grabbed her hands and pulled. They were both sent flying, but just in the knick of time as the troll landed his feet only seconds after she got away and he stomped off further into the wood. They all laid panting on the ground, just then the girls that they just saved marched over to them.

"I though you guys were supposed to be from the school of Bravery, not Brotchery!" The leader sneered, Alice could only glare at them. The pace of her heart right then was too fast that she could not focus on anything to say, but to just breathe. "LATER LOSERS!"

Alice heard a gasp, and she turned her head. They had pranced off, but had been stopped by Riven. "Is this how the Alfea school is represented? With stuck up girls-" _Your one to talk, Riven._ "-who can't appreciate the fact that they have just been saved?"

The girls were obviously taken aback, and frightened by the look on Riven's face.

"W-We're sorry!" One of them blushed, and they all ran off.

Riven walked over to Alice, a little wobbly. "Hey."

"Hey..." Alice murmured, still catching her breath. He noticed the sad look in her eyes, and patted her head. She looked up at him.

"Don't let what they said get to you. You were amazing."

"Thanks, but we still lost the troll..." She muttered. He let out a sigh.

"And? We're Sophomores and we should have been able to handle it without mistakes. This was our first real assignment and we blew it up." He added.

"So your finally admitting that you make mistakes?" Alice smiled slightly.

"I know that I make mistakes, but the most important thing is that I amend them." Riven stated, sitting down beside her and resting his head in the crook of her neck. She blushed a little. "I'm sorry."

She took Riven's hand and stood up. "Well, let's go. We have a troll to catch!"

He nodded in agreement with a smile.

 _Riven never thought of me as weak ever again._

* * *

"Do you feel that?" Bloom asked. "The feeling stops here."

It had already grown quite dark and the sun was just starting to set.

"So where is the troll?" Sky, Brandon, asked.

"Gone, but I sense something else. Something cold."

"There's negative energy here." Stella agreed.

Alice suddenly felt a child go up her spine. "I can feel it too." She looked on the ground, and found something. "Look!"

"What is it Alice?" Flora asked.

"It's duck feathers and who do we know who's being stalked by a baby duck?"

"Icy." Suddenly, all the pieces came together as to why the airship crashed and where the troll was running away to.

* * *

"Sorry for our tardiness professor!"

They ran towards the class, not realising that it was already pitch black by the time that they got back.

Professor Palladium frowned. "Your group is by far the last to arrive. And so, unfortunately, you receive a zero for punctuality." The group groaned. But suddenly, seeing your saddened faces – the professor smiled. "However." _However?_ "Thirty points for generosity, twenty five for initiative, forty for courage and fifty for your ability to listen to the Voice of Nature. That should make your score the highest in the class!"

"What?! Seriously?" The girls cheered.

"Really? So I basically got my first A? I don't know how I feel about that." Julian stated, scratching his head.

The group of girls from earlier stepped forward, and their leader stamped her foot. "No fair! They were the last to get here professor!"

He shook his head. "Yes, but I never said that this was a race. What you girls need to realise is that the journey is far more important than the destination."

Alice, for the first time today, smiled a stunning smile as she watched the rest of the girls high five each other.

Later on in the night, the girls went back to their dorms. Being too excited and cheerful to sleep, they all decided to celebrate in Bloom and Flora's room. They were remembering parts about the day that was the most embarrassing – especially Riven falling into the water – and laughed it off.

"It was worth it. I'm glad I got to work with you guys." Musa stated.

"We should work together on stuff like this from now on." Tecna agreed.

"Mm!" Alice and Flora nodded their heads enthusiastically.

"I have an idea you guys!" Bloom said suddenly, and they all turned to look at her. "We are a really awesome group so we should have an equally awesome name! What do you think?"

"I agree." Tecna said. "A name is good for quick reference."

Stella's eyes brightened, she had suddenly cheered up considerably as she had just came out of a bath in her private bathroom. "The right name would give us that certain something, like that sort of edge you know? So people will see us coming and shout our names. We could be called something like…the Wonder Six, or the Stella Six! The Power Troupe! The B.S.M.T.F.A?"

They all laughed at Stella's insistency to be the leader of the group.

"But, B.S.M.T.F.A?" Musa said suddenly.

Stella nodded with delight. "Check it Musa! Beauty, Style, Magic, Taste, Flair and Adorableness! It's also the first letters of each of our names!"

"Nah, it's way too cheesy." Musa stated.

"And a mouthful." Alice added.

"Well, I say bloom picks it." Flora suggested.

"Me too." Musa and Tecna said instantaneously.

Bloom looked at them in delight. "Really? Because I did come up with a little something. I even made a logo! Check it out!" She held up a a graffiti drawing of letters that said "Wings".

"That's awesome!" Flora gushed.

"That's totally chic Bloom!" Stella proclaimed.

"So we're now called the Wings?" Tecna asked.

"Well, it still doesn't sound right…" Alice commented, and then had a light bulb moment. "Instead of Wings, how about replacing the G and the S to an X. Winx."

"So it will sound like Winks?" Bloom asked.

Alice nodded.

"Yeah, even more edgy!" Stella whooped.

"Okay, girls. We are now called the Winx Club!" Alice and Bloom shouted together, and they all laughed.

 _So much has happened, and I've changed so much already. I've met so many new people; I've already made some really good friends. I'm not alone anymore. I feel wanted by people. I know that I will keep changing. This is my new beginning as a fairy._


	14. Chapter 5: The Date With Disaster

"Five hundred sacks of potatoes on the wall, five hundred sacks of potatoes, take it down and pass it around, four hundred and ninety nine sacks of potatoes on the wall. four hundred and ninety nine-"

"Alice, if you sing that song one more time I will unleash a beat that will be ringing in your ears for days." Musa groaned.

They had all gathered one day in the big kitchen of Alfea, pealing potatoes for Bloom's Potions 101 class project which wills the person who drinks it to give good advice the next day.

"You know," Bloom started. "I'd feel like a total dork if this doesn't work."

"Is that because you chose the hardest recipe in the book or the fact that we have been pealing potatoes for the past three hours?" Alice asked.

"It wasn't the hardest recipe in the book!" Bloom protested. "It was in the New Self-Improvement Guide for Fairies."

Musa laughed. "What was the formula again?"

Bloom looked down at her book. "A thousand pealed potatoes, a bushel of whipweed, a magic back flip, and your good decisions on the next day; and then good judgement is guaranteed."

"A magic back flip?" Alice questioned with a face. "Do I even need to say how weird the magic world is?"

"Magix Dimension, hunny." Flora giggled.

In the next second, the door to the kitchen burst open and there stood the rounded looking chef in the doorway. He was a dour looking man that Mrs Fairagonda introduced to the school on their first day, and with every meal they had to thank him because they were courteous young girls.

"Aha!" His accent was very Italian, and reminded Alice of Mario. At this realisation, she smirked a little. "I thought I heard little itty-bitty voices in here! What are you girls doing in _my_ kitchen, eh?"

"Uh...we were just working on a project for Potions." Bloom explained awkwardly. _I guess she had forgotten to ask permission to use the kitchen space._

"Look at this mess!" He pressed his hands firmly to his head, as if he was trying to dull a headache.

Bloom tied her arms behind her back and looked down at the floor apologetically, she kicked the ground behind her.

"Relax Mistro." Musa said, throwing the chef one of the potatoes in which he nearly missed. "Have a spud."

Flora threw Alice a grey flat hat to which she put on her head.

"Top o' the mornin' tae ye laddie, my name's j-"

"What is this?!" He shrieked, ignoring Alice completely.

"That's dinner." Flora said, biting her nail.

"Bloom was making it." Alice said, taking off the hat and swinging it around on her index finger. "Since she's making us do all this hard labour."

The chef turned to Bloom. "That's not how you cook!"

"How hard can it be to make an omelette?" Musa snorted, as they all took a station.

"You must show love to your food." He said, stars twinkling in his eyes. "You must put the passion into your cooking."

Alice mixed two eggs in a bowl, adding some salt and pepper into the gooey mix and poured it into the sizzling pan. As it started to darken on both sides, she threw in some chopped cheese, ham and tomato slices and folded everything over.

As she took a look at the other girls...let's just say their omelettes were more like fried eggs. Each of them proceeded to flip theirs in the air successfully, all except Bloom who got hers stuck in the ceiling fan.

They all watched as the ceiling fan turned slowly with the little egg hanging half off of one of the fans.

"I'll get it." Flora jogged over to the dial for the fan, as she twisted it; the fan only turned faster and faster.

"I don't think that's it, Flora!" Tecna shouted.

"Go little omelette, spinnin' like a DJ, like it's your birthday, like you got your biggest fan, gonna surf you like a ham..." Musa rapped. While doing this, Alice threw her arms up in the air.

"You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a record baby, right round, right round-"

"Knock it off!" The chef stomped his big foot. "I see you need to be instructed in singing as well as cooking in a kitchen-!" Flora finally figured out how to turn off the fan, but the 'omelette' flew off until it made a splatting noise across the chef's face.

Alice held her hand over her mouth to stop herself from snickering, but figured that she'd soon fail to keep in her laughter, so she ran out the room.

"Normally I would find this funny." He wiped the remnants of the omelette from his face with his apron as he growled. "But since I am the one with the egg on my face; I will not laugh. You might want to scram before the head mistress gets here." With that, he ran off and passed Alice.

She took a moment to contain herself before she walked back in the room with the same smirk on her face as she looked at the girls.

The timer pinged for the oven.

"The whipweed is almost done." Flora stated, after she had checked the oven and set the timer again.

The door crashed open again and they all turned around to expect to see the chef again but with the addition of Ms. Griselda and Ms. Fairagonda, but were instead greeted by the smug face of the uncooperative Stella.

"What's the sitch in the kitch, girls?" She asked with the same smug look. Obviously something was up, and Tecna had probably felt it as well.

"You being fashionably late can only mean a social engagement."

"Yeaaaah..." Stella giggled at herself a little. "I know I said that I'd help you guys out but, you're just gonna have to let me play a good excuse card today!"

"Uh huh." Alice tutted. "And which one are you going to play today?"

"The Prince Sky one!" She giggled again, zinging a card out of thin air and waved it in front of their faces. "He invited me on a date to some place called the 'Black Lagoon Café' tonight!"

They all gathered around Stella, all of them looking at the card. Alice's eyebrow quirked when she saw it.

Musa gasped. "A handwritten letter! You go, Stella! Whoo!" She waved her hand in the air.

Stella sighed. "Yeah I know. But the only problem is that I don't know what to wear! I'm in **desperate** need of second opinions."

"Say no more Stella!" Bloom cried, jumping in to save the day.

They all ran up the stairs and into their dorm room until they came in front of Stella's bedroom door. When she opened it, and they all saw in the room for the very first time since Stella's bedroom is considered to be her own private space, they were all greeted by a much bigger room than any of them had imagined. In the middle of the room, there was a huge king sized bed resting against the wall. There were two other doors, one leading presumably to her own onsuite and the other leading into her own **large** walk-in wardrobe. Stella walked in and pushed all her clothes back, revealing a whole room full of clothes. It looked more like a clothing store, everyone's jaws dropped in shock.

 _I don't think Stella really knows how much clothes are actually here..._ Alice looked at the proud face of Stella.

"You had a whole other row back there?" Bloom gasped.

Alice patted Bloom's shoulder. "I think the correct term is a dozen rows..."

"Doesn't this guy Sky lose points because of the short notice?" Tecna pointed out, getting back to the point of why they were brought there in the first place.

"Yeah, but he gets bonus points for the formal invitation!" Stella strode over one of the racks, meanwhile Flora had already caught her eye on a beautiful black dress.

"Do you think I could borrow this sometime?" She asked, holding the dress in front of her form to give the other girls a good look. "I don't own much black and I-"

"Yeah, hello Flora!" Stella waved in front of Flora's face. "We're here about me!"

With a sigh, Flora put the dress back on the rack.

"...I'm guessing there's an excellent reason behind this dress." Tecna gave a giggle, holding up a hideous pink dress that looked like it vomited black dots. It had blue edging to the collar and the cuffs. "Where in the realms did you get that thing Stella?"

"I designed it." Stella said, matter-of-factly. When Alice noticed it, she tried to suppress the fit of giggles she felt in her chest and her throat.

"Oh, well, it's very..." Tecna started, biting her lip and not being able to find a word for the hideous thing without hurting Stella's feelings.

"Very what?" Stella asked, turning to Tecna with a look that urged Tecna to test her.

"Hey Stella, what about this one?" Bloom interrupted just in time, holding up a hanger that held a baby blue evening dress and a pair of matching gloves. Stella nearly skipped over to Bloom and jump-hugged her.

"That's perfect Bloom!" She cried. "You're the best!"

She took the dress from Bloom's hands and rushed off to go put it on.

"So..." Bloom started. "Will Brandon be there?"

 _Why would he be? This is a date, Bloom. Not a hangout._

"No, Sky gave his servant the night off." Stella answered, and Alice's jaw dropped.

"Brandon is not Prince Sky's servant!" She turned so that her back was to Stella. "The correct term is First Royal Squire!"

"Talk to me about these heels." Stella wasn't even listening to Bloom ramble on about her little boy crush. "Too intense?"

Alice stepped forward, glaring at Stella.

"Girl-" Flora held out a hand to stop her.

"They're not very practical." Tecna answered.

Stella went over to sit on her bed, she pointed over to the desk which was filled with perfumes and make-ups and nail varnishes in colour coordination. "Musa, be a dear and bring me that chest please?"

"Of course, your highness." Musa said sarcastically. She walked over to the chest on the table, lifting it up from the sides and nearly toppled over by the weight of it as she put it on the bed. "What's in there?"

"Just a few accessories that I've kept over the years." Stella answered, lifting the lid to reveal more than a few accessories.

"Just a few now?" Musa whispered to herself.

"The Ring of Solaria." Stella said with a smile, plucking it out from the top of the pile and put it on her finger. She twisted it a few times before she took it off again. "Eh, maybe not. Alice, do you mind keeping an eye on this for me? Just for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll ask for it back."

"Uh, do you really think that's the safest option now?" Alice said, shaking her head. "I have a tendency to lose every piece of jewellery I own."

"Bloom then?" Stella gave the puppy dog eyes to Bloom, and Bloom gave in with a sigh.

"Fine, why do you want me to have it anyway? Weren't you going to wear it?" Bloom asked, taking the ring from Stella's hand and put in safely on her index finger.

"When I have it, I have a tendency to cast love spells at any guy I meet before I get to know them. Besides, something tells me that I won't be needing any magic tonight." She smiled and did a twirl.

"So, the love spells are for the second date eh?" Alice said with a laugh, setting off the other girls.

"No!" Stella huffed. "I'm confident that I won't need any love spells with this one!"

"What I don't understand is that you're getting yourself so stressed about meeting some guy." Tecna shook her head.

"He's not just _some guy_ , Tecna! He's a Prince!" Stella exclaimed, then suddenly a foul stench filled the air.

"Okay, who let one off?" Alice asked, pinching her nose.

"The one who smelt it dealt it." Bloom said, turning to Alice.

"The one who said the rhyme did the crime." Alice smiled to Bloom.

"The Flipweed!" Flora squeeked, and then everyone started filing out of the room haphazardly.

"Wait guys! We aren't done yet!" Stella called, racing out of the room and stopped at the door to watch them take off down the hall.

"Sorry Stella!" Alice shouted back, shrugging her arms as she ran. "If this one doesn't go well then we'll definitely be prepared for the next one!"

"Alice!" Musa laughed, slapped Alice's arm playfully as they rounded the corner. "Have a good time Stella!"

* * *

"Well, at least the flipweed is done." Alice said, pointing to the oven that poured out smoke and filled the entirety of the kitchen. She turned to Bloom who started biting her thumbnail. "Well done Bloom, I think you'll definitely get an 'A' for this assignment." She remarked sarcastically.

"'Well' and 'Done' are two words rarely used together wherever you girls get involved." Behind them stood the demon teacher, Ms Griselda, and the evil cook that sold them out. "Air-rollus." The smoke instantly swirled in a circle as quick as lightning and burst into glittering dust from the spell. "The mistro tells me that you-"

"Here! I got the- Uuuh!" Flora had managed to detach the fire extinguisher from the opposite side of the room but it proved too heavy for her as she tripped over her own feet and fell, accidentally pressing in the clip to set off the fire extinguisher. Foam burst from the nozzle, and splattered on Ms. Griselda's face which made Alice have to bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing. Looking around, she saw that the other girls had to do the same.

Ms. Griselda wiped her face with her hand, foam flying to the floor as she did so. If she wasn't angry before, then she was definitely angry now.

"Since you're having such a good time in the kitchen, you can just spend the rest of the night here; cooking dinner for the entire school!" She boomed, storming out of the door and followed by the Chef.

Bloom turned to the girls. "Which means that we can still finish the potion." She smiled.

* * *

"Bloom..." Alice groaned, flopping down onto the beanbag on the floor with a sigh and squishing her face against it. "I hate you so much right now..." She wiggled her toes, and jumped in the air a little when Musa dropped herself onto the same beanbag. Not really paying attention to the others around her, she looked on to the absent light of Stella's room - wondering why she hadn't even seen Helia yet and why Stella must get the luck while she couldn't even see her own boyfriend.

"Why doesn't Riven ask me out like Sky did with Stella?!" Musa pointed and crossed her arms. "Just saying!"

"Because Riven isn't really the type to come out and confess his feelings to anybody." Alice mumbled against the beanbag. "Plus, you've literally not even talked to him on your own yet and Stella has known Sky longer than you've known Riven."

Bloom entered the living room of their dorm with a huge smile. "Well, I've taken the potion! It should kick-in by the morning."

"Musa wants to go out with Riven." Tecna announced, gaining an incredulous look from Musa.

"What?!" Bloom shrieked. "Seriously?! How come you want to go out with someone so rude?"

Musa opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Tecna. "I've heard that some boys act rude because they are crushing." Tecna pointed out.

Bloom tapped her chin and nodded. "That could be it." They laughed at Musa's 'I give up on all of you' face. "I'll tell you tomorrow when my good judgement potion kicks in. But it's getting late already, so let's get to bed."

Bloom and Flora left the room to go to bed as Musa and Tecna grabbed an arm each of Alice and began dragging her off to her bed.

* * *

"STELLA!"

Alice eyes shot open at the alarmed scream that came from the room next to her, she knew that scream all to well, and rushed out of her room. It seemed as if she wasn't the only one who awake from her slumber as Musa and Tecna dragged themselves out of the room after her.

What they saw was a bit startling.

Flora and Bloom's door lay wide open, pitch black inside except from the lights outside illuminating across the room and Stella standing in the middle of piles of accessories and paperwork that lay skewed on the floor.

"Stella! What are you doing?!" Alice yelled, rubbing her eyes. She had never really been a morning person. "If you're up then have a little decency for those who are still trying to sleep!"

Stella looked between all of them sheepishly. "Hiya, what's up?"

"What do you mean, what's up?" Alice grumbled. "I'll give you what's up..."

"We were going to ask you that, Stella. What are you doing in here? What's with all the noise?" Tecna asked, pointing to the thrown open drawers and the various items on the floor.

"Just..." Stella started, casting her eyes towards Alice who gave her a look. "Just doing a little spring cleaning, yeah!"

"Who are you and what have you done to Stella?" Musa said, with an over-fantasized gasp.

"So what time did you get in last night, Stel? We didn't hear you." Bloom asked, her worry laced with her tone.

"Yeah." Flora winked, shifting onto her right foot and holding her hip as if she were a fashion model. She had the stunning looks to be one. "How did the date go, Stella? We expect every detail."

"I got in late and the date went fine, okay?" Stella said, agitated. She stormed out of the room, and made her way towards her bedroom. Before she could even open the door, Alice slammed her hand against the door frame and proceeded to give Stella a menacing glare. The weirdest part about this was that Stella gave a totally unlike Stella evil smirk.

"Your not getting off that easy! Come on! Tell! Tell!" Bloom chanted, none of the others but Alice could sense the vibes that Stella gave off.

Stella didn't look back at them. "Umm...Yeah, pretty romantic."

"Did he walk you home? Did he kiss you goodnight?" Bloom pushed on, becoming more excited.

"Uh come on! Don't you people have your own lives?! How totally pathetic!" Stella yelled, knocking Alice's hand and body out of the way to open her bedroom door. "Ugh!" She grunted, before she disappeared and slammed the door.

"Stella!" Alice shouted after her, trying to force open Stella's bedroom door that had been locked. She was unaware of the door handle that began to melt in her grasp, and it glistened in it's red hot glory. "Don't you think your going _just a bit overboard?!_ "

"Alice!" Flora shrieked, prying Alice's hand away from the door handle. by taking her wrist. As they looked on, the door handle had engraved her fingers deep within the metal and the butt was loosely hanging from where it melted.

Everyone stared at Alice in disbelief, Alice couldn't quite believe it either.

"In light of what just happened," Flora began. "I think your Winx is surfacing."

Alice stared in shock. _My magic?_

I don't get it.

Why is it that mine is the only power that is destructive?

Alice looked at the door handle again. _If that means that I control fire, why is it that Bloom didn't harm the things around her?_

* * *

"You girls look marvellous! Now let's get your normal heads back!" Professor Wizgiz, who stood a top of his desk, looked around at his class. Who all had pumpkin heads. Professor Wizgiz raised his hands in the air with excitement. "Now repeat after me! Decapaduncan!"

"Decapaduncan!" Fairy dust sparkled around their faces and their heads slowly changed back into human ones.

The only problem was that when Alice tried to transform her head into a pumpkin, only the green stalk sprouted on her head and now she can't get rid of it. It appeared as if another girl in the class had the same problem, except the fact that this girl had managed to actually change into a pumpkin.

"Wow! That was awesome!" Bloom shouted from behind Alice, holding her arms around her head.

Pumpkin head girl's arm shot up. "Uh! Professor Wizgiz! It didn't work! What do I do? What do I do?!"

"Don't be alarmed Miss Becca. All this means is that you're thinking to hard about the pumpkin still!" Professor exclaimed.

"I can't help it!" She held her head. "What do I do? Get my head back!"

"You need a good scare! Let's see-" Wizgiz rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small mouse. "Here you go!"

The small mouse roared at her and she jumped from her seat.

"No, no! Get it away!" Within the next moment, Becca's head glittered with fairy dust and her head turned back to normal. Becca was naturally very pretty.

"We'll find the anecdote one day Grandpa!" Wizgiz turned to the little mouse. "I promise."

"Thanks Wizzy." The mouse said before he jumped back inside Wizgiz's pocket. Alice snickered at the craziness of her little leprechaun teacher. When the bell rang, everyone rose from their chairs. "For our first full body transformation tomorrow, we'll keep it simple and easy; you'll be transforming into slugs!"

"EEEW!"

* * *

"I guess little Miss-All-That decided not to come to class!" Musa pointed out after class had ended, and they were all walking to their next one.

"Something must be bothering her for her to act out like that…" Flora muttered, loud enough for the group to hear her. She gasped when Tecna strode on ahead with a huff.

"Who cares? She was beyond rude this morning!"

Bloom stopped walking and the others followed in suit. "She's still our friend you guys, and if something's wrong then we need to be there for her."

When none of the girls answered, Alice piped up. "I agree."

Stella was naturally the most self centred girl she had ever met with her concern for fashion, clothes and whatever she deemed plausible to slap on her face at various intervals during the day. But even Stella had a soft side when it came to her friends, and Stella surely never acted out like they way she had been doing.

"I'll go check on her." – "I'll go see her."

Bloom and Alice looked at each other before coming to a silent agreement.

"Let's both go then." Alice said, before she and Bloom began running for the dorms.

"Wait! Bloom, Alice! We have Palladium next!" Flora called out after them before they turned a corner.

"We'll be back soon!" Alice shouted back, before she fell rather unceremoniously onto a man with bleached blonde locks and eyes that pierced into hers like a crashing tide. "Julian!"

He seemed to wince a little upon contact. "Hi…my Lady..." He greeted, with the same air of flirtatiousness as always. "I'm guessing your going to see the Blonde Princessa."

"Yes…? But how did you…?"

"I've just seen her, let's just say that the flying chair caught me by surprise." He chuckled. "Didn't think she had it in her."

Alice's eyes widened. "She threw a CHAIR at you?"

"It wasn't particularly aimed at me; I think I just startled her." He said. "I just heard a lot of commotion coming from your dorms, and when I went to go check it out; I saw her. I asked what she was doing and then she threw the chair."

Alice felt rage seep into her again as she composed herself. "That's it! I've had enough of her attitude! Friend or not, you DO NOT hurt other friends!"

Reaching for Julian's hand just out of nature, she began storming her way up the stairs until she reached the dorms. When she came to her specific dorm that she shared with Stella and the other girls, she kicked the door open.

"STELLA!" She yelled, storming into the room and trying to find the blonde. The culprit was found rummaging through Alice's things; various letters that she had kept in her drawer to send to her family, that she kept forgetting to send out were lying unceremoniously on the floor. Some were ripped, some were crumpled. All were important to her as they described her adventures so far at Alfea. "STELLA! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?"

In a split second, Stella turned on Alice and fired an energy ball at her. Alice shielded her face with her arms, but before she got hit Julian rushed in front of her.

"DIMENTIS SHIELD!" He called. A purple bubble surrounded them and various dates flashed everywhere, changing at every split second. Alice noticed that his hair whipped around his face and beamed like rays of sunlight, he gleamed like a God and she felt her face heating up at the sight of this incredible occurrence. The last time she had seen him, but not really seen him, in action was when she first met him. Needless to say, she was even more mesmerized by him now than she was back then.

"Your little boyfriend won't stop me next time, little pixie!" Stella sneered, before she turned and ran towards the window and jumping from it.

Alice heard a growl escape from Julian's throat and as the purple shield disappeared; the glow of his hair remained. Absolutely mesmerized, she reached out for him but her hands caught empty air as he bolted out of the window after her.

"She threw a raging witch ball at you?" Flora gasped, thoroughly checking Alice over for any injury.

"Julian saved me…" Alice whispered, lost in thought with awe and mostly guilt with the fact that she didn't go after them.

"Well that just makes it all better doesn't it?" Musa said sarcastically, throwing her arms in the air. "She still aimed to hurt, Alice!"

"There's a technical term for the way she's been acting: Crazy!" Tecna swirled her finger around her head.

"That's not it." Bloom furrowed her eyebrows. "Something's definitely up, we know that much. B-But, I think they are being led into danger! My new powers of good judgement are telling me that we need to investigate into this!"

"Good call." Musa stated. "But….where do we start?"

"How about we go to the source of when this all started; Prince Sky of Eraklyon." Bloom said, punching her fist into her hand.

Alice's eyes shifted to Bloom; because Alice already knew the truth and the sooner they got to Red Fountain the better.

* * *

"So you have absolutely no idea what we're talking about?" Flora asked incredulously.

They all currently stood on the where many of the Red Fountain fighters were sparring and honing their skills, the sun reflected off of their swords so much that it was like the equivalent of a disco ball in a dark room.

"You know, not that I wouldn't ask her out...but ever since that little incident with the troll and the swamp; we haven't been allowed to leave campus, so uh, that makes dating a little difficult." Sky scratched his brown head of hair.

"But you sent an invitation, Sky." Bloom said, passing him the small invitation card.

"Huh? What's it say?" He asked in surprise.

"Sky spent so much of his time on his royal throne, that he never learned how to read! Hah-hah-hahah!" Riven cried with laughter, to which Alice punched him lightly on the shoulder for.

"Riven! Pay attention! Did you not hear a word I just said?" Alice hissed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was listening..." Riven muttered, his face flushed in embarrassment, before he turned back around to face her and give her his full attention.

"Sorry that I couldn't be of more help to you." Sky apologised, handing back the invitation.

Bloom reached out for it. "It's okay, you've already given us important information that we needed."

A bell tolled from inside of the building, forcing all the boys surrounding them to halt what they were doing and retract their swords before they started running inside.

"I'm afraid we have to run ladies, so we'll speak to you later. Bye!" Sky said, before they took off for the building as well.

"This is just getting weird." Tecna pointed out.

"Well, at least now we know that Sky didn't send out the invitation to Stella." Bloom started. "Which means that we should really go to the address next. Shall we go?"

Before they started retreating in the direction in which they came, Musa spoke up.

"Uh...guys?" She drawled out. "Alice was definitely here with us a minute ago, right? I can't find her any where."

"Maybe she split up to search for clues? She did say that her father is in the police force." Tecna stated.

"I'm a little worried about her going off on her own." Flora said, her voice and expression laced with worry.

"I trust her to take care of herself, and if she's searching on her own to cover more ground then we must let her." Bloom said, albeit her expression was that of worry as well. What if Alice found the Trix and faced off against them, especially without magic?

"It's time to go to Magix."

* * *

With Alice's hand in his, they both ran inside the school through the open doors and blended in the crowd of boys hurdling their way into the building. She began to panic as the pushing became too much and she was soon separated from him, she stepped back and tried to observe the crowd for him.

She started to wonder if going off separately from the girls was such a good idea.

What happened next had taken her off guard, she felt the butterflies in her stomach rush like they had been caught in a whirlwind.

Riven had pinned her up against the wall, his arms at either side of her head as he looked at her with a sense of longing that she had never thought possible for him. In one fell swoop, he bent his head so that he was about level with her and his lips just inches away from hers. All she could do was look at him in complete surprised as he tilted his head and closed his eyes, their noses touching...

"Alice..." Within seconds, his glazed over eyes became amused ones.

Riven began laughing, and Alice looked at him as if he were completely off his head.

"You actually thought I was going to kiss you, didn't you!" He laughed, holding his stomach and stepping backwards. "The look on your face hahahaha!"

"You tricked me! I thought you were being serious!" She yelped infuriated, crossing her arms. "Just take me to his brother, Riven. I don't have time for this!"

"Okay, okay. Jeez." He reclaimed his composure, and looked around the hallways. "Everything seems to be clear now, time to go."

They began walking down the halls, stealthily be it they are caught. Alice looked around a bit while they did, finding a few portraits that lined the walls. Riven suddenly stopped, remembering something as Alice bumped into the back of him.

"Hey-"

"There's classrooms nearby, we'll have to do this quickly or we'll be seen." He turned to her. "You're alright with playing hookie?"

She crossed her arms. "We have some holidays different to yours." She noted. "You alright playing hookie, Riven?"

He snorted. "My name is Riven, Alice."

She tilted her head at that.

"'To Split'."

Alice tried to hold herself back from laughter. "You're name doesn't define who you are Riven."

"I know, I just thought that you'd enjoy a bit of comedic relief as we play ninja." He smirked back at her, he then pointed ahead into another hallway. "He should be right down there."

* * *

"Okay, so the invitation said of some place called the Black Lagoon Cafe." Bloom pointed out as soon as they all got off the bus and gathered around near the bus stop. The city was beautiful no matter how many times she would visit, and couldn't help but look between the flying cars and the high buildings in wonderment.

Tecna had been searching on her phone the entire time for the Cafe, but they hadn't had any luck in finding it. "It's very peculiar, my search engine is very advanced."

"Well, if all else fails; resort to my own search engine!" Bloom cries, walking up to a man that is standing at the bus stop. "Excuse me, sir. Do you know where the Black Lagoon Cafe is?"

* * *

"WHAT?!" Alice stood there, outraged. _Am I hearing things or did he really just say..._

"I can't help you, miss. I'm sure you can understand." The man that stood in front of her remained in his monotonous drawl. "I am the school's president and head of the acrobatic bikers, I have a very busy schedule."

"But he's your BROTHER!" Alice fought back, throwing her hand out to the side. "You can't just not do anything!"

"But indeed I can. Me and my brother are very different which is why I don't associate with him." He said plainly. "I can't risk my reputation to save my little fairy brother."  
His fingers circled and gripped his tea cup, raising the petite holder up towards his lips and slowly taking a sip to mock her... Until she stepped forward, snatched the tea cup from his hands and launched it at a wall. He looked to the shattered pieces on the floor in shock and then back to her, his expression turning from shock to anger as he stood up to confront her.

He towered over her easily. "Now you see here-"

"-No, you see here!" She cut him off, pointing an accusing finger at him. Despite her being much smaller than him, she was not afraid of him. "He's the first male fairy EVER. You act like you're the most spectacular specimen to walk the Earth, and you walk all over him because you're jealous. I may not know you very well, but you are certainly showing me that what your brother said was true. He doesn't deserve someone like you to save him, he's much better off without you."

"You're ridiculous for thinking that I'm jealous." He remarked, confused when she smiled.

"The only way that I'm ridiculous is for dancing with you at the ball. Good day." She turned around and stalked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Riven stood to the left of the door, out of sight but still in ear shot. "Riven, let's go. This buffoon will not help us."

"What do you want to do?" He asked, looking her over to see if she was okay and not hurt since he heard something shatter in the room.

"We're going to have to do this on our own." She explained, thinking. "How are you at riding a bike?"

He grinned.

* * *

"My feet are killing me." Flora exclaimed, settling down beside the other girls on the curb. An hour had already passed and they still had no leads to where the Cafe was.

"What I don't understand is how nobody in Magix has ever heard of this place." Bloom breathed, resting her chin on her hands.

"There's the possibility that somebody played a prank on Stella to put her into a bad mood." Musa pointed out.

"You know, I think Musa's right. Let's go back to Alfea." Tecna sighed, defeated.

"No." Bloom said quickly, and Flora yawned straight after. "Give me a minute to think."

"Bloom, just because you took that potion doesn't mean you're in charge." Tecna blurted out.

"I'm sorry if I care about our friend!" Bloom shot back.

"Oh brother..." Musa's head collapsed onto her knees.

"Ok people, just relax." Flora demanded, fed up with this now.

"Yeah Tecna!" Bloom spat.

"Bloom!"

"Did I hear you cats say that you're looking for the Black Lagoon Cafe?" An unknown voice asked from in front of them. They all looked up and were faced by a strange looking man who seemed to have no neck and his legs were too long for his body, he looked rather plumped around his middle and skin hung around his jaw line. His eyes lit up. "Wow, man. That joint is the hippest tip, y'know what I'm sayin'? It's like, totally underground! You cats have got to check it out! Though..." He looked them over, and scratched his head. "Maybe you're not cool enough."

"What?" Bloom shot up from her seat.

"No, no!" Flora pleaded.

"We're cool, we're super cool!" Bloom exclaimed.

"Yeah, we rock!" Musa shouted, clapping her hands together. "We were hip before hip was hip, now come on you gotta tell us where this place is!"

He grinned. "Hey, I was just making sure. You know how it is, you guys are alright! Just shoot down the street there, follow it all the way out of town, cross the river and you're there! It's a little cottage near an orange oak tree."

They all look in the direction he was pointing as he explained it and then went to turn back around.

"Awesome, thanks so-"

They looked behind them to find out that he had left.

"That's weird." Tecna muttered.

"Where'd he go?" Flora asked, looking to her.

"I have no idea..." Tecna replied.

Bloom frowned at how suspicious that was, but wrote it off. "I think that's how hipsters are; they leave without saying goodbye."

As they all turned around to head in the direction where he pointed, the chubby man stood around the corner rubbing his hands and giggling away to himself.

* * *

"Hey," Alice turned around, coming face to face with Riven. "You want to find them, but how do you plan to do that when you have no idea where they are?"

Alice smiled. "Simple. I take Potions Class and we were tasked with creating any potion that interested us to test our level," Riven gave her a look to get her to make her point quicker. "It's lucky that I chose to make a locator potion. If I drink this, it should take effect instantly and will help me find whatever is lost."

"Your magical power hasn't even taken form yet, and you really think this potion that you made will help us find them?" Riven asked, incredulous of such a potion that would find people. Alice winced inwardly, the fact that she was the only one in school without the power to transform was still a touchy subject for her.

"It's at least worth a try, for Stella's sake and whatever Julian has gotten himself into." She unhooked her necklace and let the small glass bottle slide into her hands. Unscrewing the bottle, she brought the glass to her lips and let the liquid pass between them. She finished it within one gulp.

A silence filled the air for a few seconds as Alice seemed to be with her thoughts.

"...Alice?"

"It's a little abandoned cottage outside of town, there's a bridge across a river and a tall withered tree beside it." She said, her eyes appeared like glass as she looked at him.

"Do you know which exit from town?"

"The East exit." She replied, before she slipped a helmet on top of her head and clipped it in.

"Okay," he revved the gears to ensure the engine was in good order. _Or it may just be a guy thing,_ Alice noted. "Hold on tight, this is going to be a bit bumpy if we're going on ground."

"Believe it or not, that's how all cars on Earth get around." Alice stated at his digging remark, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his back.

"You don't have to worry, I'm not going to fly this thing." Riven reassured her. "You don't have to freak out."

"Thank you, really." She smiled at the rare kindness she's only seen Riven show on very few occasions towards her.

They were finally on their way towards their destination.

* * *

"Potion or no potion, I have a feeling that the hipsters directions were right. We are exactly where he said we were to go." Bloom stated, looking around her. They had just crossed the bridge and the orange oak tree was in sight, along with the cottage just beside it.

"And that must be the Black Lagoon Cafe? It's precious but I-" Flora started, before she was interrupted.

"When we get back to Alfea, you should upgrade your search programme." Musa turned to Tecna, holding her hand over her mouth and laughing.

"My search programme works fine." Tecna frowned at her. "It's this place that's strange."

Flora had made her way to the oak tree and closed her eyes. "I agree with Tecna. This place feels very, very wrong." She placed her hand on the tree, a white glow emerged from her hands, and opened her eyes. "This tree isn't giving off a life force. It's dead, and it's been this way for a very long time."

"Are you sure?" Bloom asked.

They all turned as they heard a creak of the cottage door, and a gale almost blew them off their feet. Before they knew it, a green haze filled the air and the leaves fell off the tree in clusters.

"There's a change in the reality pressure! There's an illusion spell lifting!" Tecna stated.

They looked around them once more to see the beauty of the clearing reduced to somewhere horror movies were made.

"To be honest, I dug the illusion better." Musa mused.

They began walking towards the cottage to find the answers that they needed. "Well, there's no sense in turning back at this point right?"

* * *

"We're here!" Alice called over the engine, and Riven came to a stop. They both hopped off the vehicle and ran towards the cottage.

"Wait!" Riven pulled her back from entering the door as he caught a glimpse of what was inside.

Alice peaked in the window as she and Riven hid behind the door. Three figures stood in front of what she made out to be four other people with sparkling outfits that illuminated the dark room.

"What have you witches done with Stella?!" A familiar voice yelled from inside, Alice's eyes widened in shock as one of the figures pointed up to the rafters.

Stella floated above, with several rings binding her in place. They were shrinking by the second.

"You better let her go, now!"

"We will," One of the figures promised. "Just as soon as you give us the Ring of Solaria! And you better hurry up," She laughed viciously. "Because that portal coil up there will keep squeezing her tighter and tighter until she goes pop! Just like a big, fat zit!"

"That's it..." Alice felt anger boil in her. She stood behind the door, ready to kick it open.

"Alice, wait-"

 _Time's running out. What'll it be? Stella? Or the ring?_

* * *

The door burst open, and fell onto the floor; breaking into pieces. As the girls turned around, Alice stood in it's place.

"You won't be getting the ring or Stella, you psychopaths!" Alice yelled. "Give her and Julian over now!"

"Oh no! Whatever is she going to do?" Darcy faked a fearful expression that only angered Alice more.

Alice made to step forward, and watched the frightened eyes of Stella as she did so.

Icy began to charge up a white misted sphere to throw at Alice. But she only looked the witch dead in the face.

"You will pay." Alice made to step forward again, but found that her body had become lighter. Everything around her had turned white, her clothes started to wither away with the flames of her anger which were replaced with glittering two pieced golden crop top and short skirt, adorned with black leggings and golden boots. She felt a small tug in the middle of her back, a set of wings sprouted outwards.

The light finally settled and everyone around Alice marveled at the sight of her.

"You were saying?" Alice smirked, holding out her hand. "Phoenix Fire!"

A bundling ball of shimmering fire emerged from the tips of her fingers, before she launched it at the three witches. The fire collided with Icy's ice blast and overwhelmed it.

Flora, Tecna and Musa stepped forward. It was obvious that the witches were outmatched now that Alice could transform.

"We can do this with you here, Alice!" Flora exclaimed.

"It's five against three now, you're outmatched!" Tecna said, summoning her shield into her hand.

"Yeah! We're gonna make you witches wish you never heard of Alfea!" Musa pointed a finger at the three.

Icy smirked. "Have it your way then." She turned to her sisters. "Let's teach these pixies a lesson they'll never forget, sisters."

Darcy and Stormy nodded as they all held their hands out in front of them.

"STOP!" A familiar voice yelled out, the figure running out in between the two groups and jolting his arms out to the sides; a white light erupting from his palms that made each of them screw their eyes shut at the brightness of it. "Dimentis Shield!"

Alice was the first one to open her eyes, and when she saw what had just happened - her eyes widened in shock. "Julian? Where did you come from?!"

Julian stood wedged between two perfect barriers that had stopped the attacks coming from both sides, everyone marveled at his talent of keeping up two barriers at once as no one has ever done so before.

He turned to face Alice's group. "Listen, they have you backed into a corner whether you are outnumbering them or not. **They out skill you.** They have you backed into a corner and your friend's **life** is being threatened."

Bloom, who had been staring at Stella the entire time watched as the rings wrapped around her body became smaller, and Stella's eyebrows furrowed in pain as she watched the scene play out before her.

"He's right." Bloom said, speaking in what felt like the first time in a century. "Okay, the wings are coming off."

She shut her eyes, a swoosh of air passing over her and her wings disappeared as well as her outfit within a second.

"We can't put Stella in any more danger." Bloom walked over to the three witches and slid the ring off of her finger and placed it on the palm of her hand. "You guys win this time."

Stella looked in dismay. "Bloom, no..."

Icy took the ring from Bloom's hand and smirked. "Good decision, I knew we could count on the soft heart of a fairy." Icy snapped her fingers and the white cloudy binds vanished from all over Stella, and she fell to the floor.

"Let's go." Icy laughed, throwing the ring up into the air as it transformed. "The sector is ours!"

The three witches, including Knut, had vanished in a pink mist. Once everything settled, Julian had released the two barriers and Bloom was the first to run over and pull Stella into a hug.

* * *

"You're here too?!" Musa exclaimed. "Why didn't you help us?!"

Riven shrugged his shoulders. "You looked like you were handling it, I wasn't worried at all."

He looks to Alice. "You did a good job in there from what I saw, Alice."

"We lost Stella's ring though..." She sulked.

"Don't be down about it," Julian patted her back. "It's rather my own fault for stepping in like I did, but you had just transformed and I didn't want you to overexert yourself."

"Julian?"

"Yeah?"

"I transformed." Alice looked at him, her smile reaching her eyes. Her constant worry was over, and so was the many nights she had been with Julian contemplating her worth to the Winx Club.

Now it was time to go home.

* * *

"That was a good decision you made tonight Bloom." They were all sat in the living room area, shattered from the day's events.

"Yeah, seriously." Stella agreed. "I thought I was a goner. If I had some of that potion last night then I would have known not to go on that 'date'!"

"Hey, you know what? Last night I almost forgot to mix in the Mandrake Beet." Bloom exclaimed. "Who knows what could have happened without my good judgement!"

Tecna stood up with the rest of them as they made their way to their rooms to collapse for the day. "No, wait! You were supposed to mix in a Mandrake root, not a Beet!"

Flora turned to Tecna. "She got the potion wrong, do you know what this means?"

Bloom pumped her fist. "I sure do Flora, this totally rules!"

"Bloom, what are you talking about?" Stella asked, with a yawn.

"I'm a natural, good decision maker." Bloom smiled, and Alice laughed at her.

"Go to bed, Bloom."

"I'm being serious! Just thinking about taking the potion gave me confidence, even though the potion didn't actually work!" Bloom put her hand on her chest where her heart is. "It's all my own confidence! You know girls, the witches may have scored a goal but they haven't won the game!"

"If you're done preaching, can we go to bed?" Alice yawned mockingly.

"What do you mean by a game?" Tecna asked.

"It's just an expression, Tecna." Stella explained.

Bloom smiled. "girls, we're gonna get that ring back!"


End file.
